September 23, 2019 5:47 pm
Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone announced Monday that Lavonne Williams, 39, from Ohio was sentenced by Judge Valarie Costanzo to 16 to 32 years in a state correctional institution. Williams was convicted in April following a jury trial of five felony charges and three misdemeanor charges including possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession with intent to deliver fentanyl, possession of firearms prohibited, and possessing a firearm with altered manufacturer number. Detectives with the Washington County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force were conducting an ongoing investigation into illegal drug trafficking in various locations including 171 Jollick Manor in the City of Washington. Detectives made a series of controlled purchases of narcotics and obtained search warrants for several residences located in the City of Washington. All warrants were executed on June 9, 2017 which resulted in numerous arrests. Specifically in the investigation targeting Williams a safe was found in his residence which contained cocaine in rock form, marijuana, $2,600 in U.S. Currency, approximately 5 bricks of heroin laced with fentanyl, pills, a S& W 32 caliber revolver, a Walther 32 caliber handgun with obliterated serial number, and a box of ammunition. Vittone said Williams, who has an extensive criminal record in Ohio was a person prohibited from possessing firearms under the law.
September 23, 2019 5:40 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – Prosecutors say a U.S. Army soldier shared bomb-making instructions online and also discussed killing activists and bombing a news network. The Justice Department says Monday that Jarrett William Smith was charged with distributing information related to explosives and weapons of mass destruction. The 24-year-old was stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas. Prosecutors say Smith discussed his plan to kill far-left-leaning “antifa” activists and described how to build a bomb that could be triggered by calling a cell phone. They say he also said on Facebook that he was interested in traveling to Ukraine to fight with a paramilitary group known as Azov Batallion. Court papers say Smith also suggested targeting a major news network with a car bomb. The news network was not identified.
September 23, 2019 4:57 pm
LOS ANGELES (AP) – “Game of Thrones” has won the best television drama series Emmy Award. The HBO fantasy epic takes the award for the fourth time in its eighth and final season. It was the just the second Emmy on what had been a mostly quiet night for “Game of Thrones.” Peter Dinklage won best supporting actor in a drama for the show. He set a record for most wins for the same role, four, breaking a tie with Aaron Paul of “Breaking Bad.” “Fleabag” won the Emmy for best comedy series The win Sunday for the Amazon Prime Video series added on to an already huge night for show creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Her acting win blocked “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus from setting a record as the most-honored performer in Emmy history.
September 23, 2019 10:26 am
PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez has been transferred to the Westmoreland County Jail. Vazquez, 28, admitted to exchanging sexually explicit pictures with the 13-year-old victim and driving to her home in Scottdale, where he attempted to have sex with her in his car about two years ago, officials said. The girl is now 15 years old and lives in Florida. According to an affidavit from Westmoreland County, Vazquez admitted to investigators the victim “looked too young and that she appeared to be 16 years of age or younger.” Police said Vazquez told them he initially refused to communicate with her due to her age.
September 23, 2019 4:26 am
DALLAS (AP) – A defense attorney for a former Dallas police officer accused of fatally shooting a man who she wrongly believed was in her own apartment says the identical look of the apartment complex from floor to floor often led to confusion among tenants. Amber Guyger’s attorney, Robert Rogers, during opening statements of her murder trial Monday said dozens of people living at the complex reported regularly parking on the wrong floor or attempting to enter the wrong apartment. Rogers says the floors of the parking garage were not clearly marked so it was understandable when Guyger, tired from a long shift, in September 2018 pushed open a door and believed an intruder was inside. Authorities say Guyger shot Botham Jean as the 26-year-old Jean was inside his own apartment. Guyger later was fired from the Dallas police force.
September 23, 2019 4:25 am
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s president says his country will offer its own rival security coalition in the Persian Gulf, as the U.S. sends more troops to Saudi Arabia and heads its own regional military coalition. Hassan Rouhani, before traveling to attend the U.N. meetings, said Monday that Iran will invite “all littoral states of the Persian Gulf” to join its coalition “to guarantee the region’s security.” He says the initiative is not limited to “security” but also encompasses economic cooperation and will be presented in detail at the United Nations. Rouhani describes the coalition as a plan for “long-term” peace in the area. The proposal comes amid heightened Mideast tensions following a series of attacks, including a missile-and-drone assault on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry that U.S. alleges Iran was behind. Tehran denies the charge and has warned against retaliatory strikes.
September 23, 2019 4:24 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he personally pressured the Trump administration to release U.S. aid to Ukraine this summer, a time when the funding is now under scrutiny with a whistleblower’s complaint against the president. The Republican leader said Monday he did not know the content of the whistleblower’s complaint. President Donald Trump was reportedly withholding funding for Ukraine as he urged the country’s president to investigate his chief political rival, Joe Biden. Trump denies any wrongdoing. McConnell says he contacted both the Defense Secretary and the Secretary of State this summer to release the funds. Congress had approved $250 million for Ukraine security. He criticized Democrats for demanding public scrutiny of Trump’s actions. He said the Intelligence committee should handle questions in a classified setting.
September 23, 2019 4:23 am
NEW YORK (AP) – President Donald Trump heads into his three-day visit to the United Nations this week hoping to lean on strained alliances while fending off questions about whether he sought foreign help to damage a political rival. Trump’s latest U.N. trip comes after nearly three years of an “America First” foreign policy that has unsettled allies and shredded multinational pacts. A centerpiece of this year’s U.N. schedule will be a Monday session on climate change that Trump plans to skip. Instead, he will address a meeting about the persecution of religious minorities, particularly Christians, an issue that resonates with Trump’s evangelical supporters.
September 23, 2019 4:21 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – Crews have been working to repair the roads that were flooded and badly damaged by the ‘catastrophic’ water main break in Carrick for the past two days. Sunday morning, those repairs got harder after Pennsylvania American Water crews unintentionally struck a gas line while working on Becks Run Road. According to Columbia Gas officials, they turned off gas for two businesses in that area as a safety precaution due to damage to the gas line. Officials said there is no timeframe for when gas service will be restored in that area, but traffic has resumed normal operations just days after being completely flooded because of the water main break.
September 23, 2019 4:17 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A rare, potentially deadly virus transmitted by mosquitoes has been confirmed in three Pennsylvania counties. The Pennsylvania departments of health and agriculture issued a warning Saturday after confirming eastern equine encephalitis in Erie, Carbon, and Monroe counties. The virus was found in pheasants, horses and a wild turkey. The virus is carried by birds. Mosquitoes can transmit it to humans, horses and other birds. Health officials say the infection is fatal in 30% of human cases. They’re urging people to avoid mosquito bites when outdoors by wearing mosquito repellent and covering exposed skin with lightweight clothing. Homeowners should also make sure window screens are in good condition and eliminate standing water around their properties.
