September 24, 2019 4:07 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of providing a white powdery substance tainted with fentanyl at an after-party in Pittsburgh, leading to the death of three men.
Pittsburgh Public Safety spokesman Chris Togneri says Peter Rene Sanchez Montalvo was arrested Monday on federal charges of distributing a controlled substance resulting in death and serious bodily injury. Authorities say Montalvo goes by the name Carlos. No information on an attorney for him was available. Togneri says he had been at a bar earlier and invited some patrons to an after-party at an apartment where he’d been staying. Federal prosecutors say the partygoers believed the white substance was cocaine. The medical examiner’s office has initially determined it contained the powerful opioid fentanyl. It’s unclear who alerted emergency authorities, who arrived at the building to find several people dead or in need of medical help.
September 24, 2019 4:04 am
Police and fire communications will be greatly improved in Peters Township. Council unanimously approved $387,000 in funding to replace its radio communications systems for the police and fire departments. Equipment currently in use is anywhere from 15 to 18 years old and replacement parts are scarce. The purchase was made through the state’s COSTARS program. COSTARS is a purchasing cooperative that takes advantage of negotiated discounts for certain equipment needs. Lauer pointed out that Peters Township was able to negotiate an additional discount saving taxpayer even more money. Lauer expects the system to be in place by the end of the year.
September 24, 2019 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH – (WPXI) – A Pittsburgh-area doctor has been accused of giving out opioids in exchange for sex. Emilio Ramon Navarro, 58, of Coal Center is facing 29 counts total — 28 for controlled substance violations and 1 for health care fraud. According to investigators, Navarro began distributing oxymorphone and oxycodone to a person identified as “A.W.” in April 2018 and continued to do so for a year, receiving sexual favors in return. Navarro was arrested Monday morning and has already made his first appearance in federal court. The Department of Justice said he operates a private family practice in Perryopolis. If convicted, Navarro could face 20 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or both for each count of the drug violations, plus an additional 10 years and $250,000 in fines for the fraud charge.
September 24, 2019 3:52 am
State Police are investigating a burglary that occurred at the North Franklin Township Municipal Building on September 14th. Troopers say surveillance video shows what appears to be a man breaking into the building around six a.m. through a window. Police say he stole about one-hundred and twenty-dollars in cash and possibly a ring of keys that belongs to local businesses.
September 24, 2019 3:42 am
State Police are expected to be called in to inspect a dump truck that was involved in a crash that heavily damaged a home, a car and a house. Authorities say a teenager driving a dump truck owned by Tri-State Welding in Charleroi, sideswiped a car Monday in Speers, before traveling through a house at 906 Anne Avenue. Authorities say the incident started just before eleven a.m. on Maple Avenue, near the Speers, Interstate 70 Interchange, when the truck, loaded with stones, sideswiped the car and then slammed into the house, destroying half the building and coming to rest on its side. The collision left the kitchen and living room exposed. A resident of the home, nineteen-year-old Jason Viatale was evacuated from the house with no injuries. He was in a basement bedroom at the time of the crash. The truck driver and two women in the car were taken to Mon Valley Hospital for treatment of what appeared to be minor injuries. (Photo: WPXI)
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.
