October 15, 2022 3:40 am
The Allegheny County woman charged earlier this week in connection with the discovery of a Monessen man’s body along Washington Avenue in Finleyville has now been charged with his death. Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh says 23 year old Maurissa Spencer is being held without bond in the Washington County Jail. Charges against her now include; criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, hindering apprehension or prosecution and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Spencer told police that 29 year old Jaisen Irwin was in the passenger seat of her vehicle and fell out as she drove. She admitted that she kept going and never called 9-1-1 following the shooting around 1 a.m Monday. An investigation into her vehicle turned up multiple blood stains as well as blood that had been wiped down at some point. A black and white Nike jump suit matching one that Spencer was wearing was also found with multiple blood stains on it. According to reports, the incident began with an altercation at a bar in Monongahela that then moved to Bob’s Tavern in Finleyville. Walsh tells WJPA News that the investigation is ongoing and more charges in the case are likely.
October 14, 2022 3:48 pm
LONDON (AP) – Scottish actor Robbie Coltrane, who played a forensic psychologist on TV series “Cracker” and Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” movies, has died. He was 72. Coltrane’s agent Belinda Wright said he died Friday at a hospital in Scotland. She did not give a cause. Coltrane came to fame as a hard-bitten detective in the 1990s series “Cracker,” for which he won best actor at the British Academy Television Awards three years running. He played gentle half-giant Hagrid, a mentor to the boy wizard, in all eight Harry Potter films. Other roles include a Russian crime boss in the James Bond thrillers “GoldenEye” and “The World is Not Enough.” (Photo: ABC News)
October 14, 2022 4:26 am
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Two police officers who were shot dead in Connecticut had apparently been drawn into an ambush by an emergency call about possible domestic violence, authorities said Thursday. A third officer was wounded in the gunfire. State police said in a release that the 911 call Wednesday night about a dispute between two siblings appears to have been “a deliberate act to lure law enforcement to the scene” in Bristol. Bristol Police Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy were killed. Officer Alec Iurato was injured. Police said the suspect, Nicholas Brutcher, 35, was shot dead, and his brother Nathan Brutcher was wounded. The surviving brother, 32, was hospitalized, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether he or his family have an attorney or someone else who can speak for them.Neighbor Danny Rodriguez said he was outside his home across the street when the gunfire rang out. “I heard a whole war going on behind me,” he said. “It was so loud and crazy.” Connecticut state police said they were still working to answer many questions that remained about the confrontation. No video of it has emerged publicly.
October 14, 2022 4:21 am
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) – Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced to life without parole for the 2018 massacre of 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. That sentence comes after the jury announced Thursday that it could not unanimously agree that Cruz should be executed. The decision ends a three-month trial that included graphic videos and photos, and heart-wrenching testimony from victims’ family members. Many family members shook their heads, looked angry or covered their eyes as the jury’s decision was read. Some parents sobbed as they left court. A judge will formally sentence Cruz on Nov. 1.
October 14, 2022 4:20 am
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Police in North Carolina say that the suspect who killed five people in a shooting was a juvenile male. Raleigh Police Lt. Jason Borneo said that the suspect was taken into custody around 9:37 p.m. Thursday, hours after the shooting. His identity and age weren’t released. Authorities have said that he opened fire along a walking trail in a residential area northeast of downtown. Authorities say an off-duty police officer was among those slain. Two other people, including another police officer, were taken to hospitals. The officer was later released, but the other survivor remained in critical condition.
October 14, 2022 4:17 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The House Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump for his testimony about the 2021 Capitol attack. The panel voted unanimously Thursday to compel the former president to appear. Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, the panel’s vice-chair, says, “We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th’s central player … the man who set this all in motion.” Earlier in Thursday’s hearing, the last before next month’s congressional elections, the panel presented vivid new video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders pleading for help. And it outlined Trump’s multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss.
October 14, 2022 4:13 am
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. — (WPXI) – An action sports helmet, a 30-pound dumbbell and a mandolin are just some of the items that were abandoned at the Pittsburgh International Airport. The annual Allegheny County Airport Authority auction is coming up, and we got an exclusive look at some of the 8,000 items that will be up for bid. The items were turned in to the lost-and-found and held for 30 days, and if not claimed, they go to auction. This year, 11 cars were left at the airport. “The cars are as is. These are cars that were parked in our lot and left behind. And not able to track down the owners. Police in the state were not able to track down the owners,” said Matt Neistein, the public affairs manager at Pittsburgh International Airport. There are also 300 pieces of electronics ranging from computers to tablets, along with some unusual belongings that travelers didn’t take with them, including a flute, a mandolin, and much more. It’s one of the few airports across the country that auctions off forgotten items. The money goes to the airport’s charitable foundations. This is the 12th year for the Allegheny County Airport Authority’s auction. The auction is being held on Saturday, Oct. 22. The doors open at 8:30 a.m. and bidding begins at 10 a.m.
October 14, 2022 4:08 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – President Joe Biden will be making a stop in Pittsburgh next week. According to information from the White House, Biden will arrive in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Oct. 20. Afterward, he is expected to attend a reception for Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate John Fetterman in Philadelphia. The exact reason for the president’s visit to Pittsburgh is unclear at this time.
October 14, 2022 2:53 am
A North Charleroi man learned his sentence for possession of child pornography on Thursday. John Eckert, 62 will spend the next four to sixteen years in state prison. Eckert pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts of possession of child pornography in June. During his hearing Eckert asked for leniency in his sentence suggesting a probationary sentence. The Attorney General asked for a prison sentence in the general range of sentence guidelines. He will be required to register with state police to be listed on the Megan’s Law list of sexual offenders.
October 14, 2022 2:18 am
United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung says a Charleroi man has been sentenced in federal court to 188 months (approximately 15.6 years) of imprisonment and four years of supervised release on his conviction for violating federal narcotics laws. United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand imposed the sentence on 47-year-old Keith McCrae. According to information presented to the court, on or about March 31, 2021, Keith McCrae possessed. with the intent to distribute, 28 grams or more of cocaine base, in the form commonly known as crack, along with a quantity of cocaine. On that day, federal and state law enforcement executed a warrant to search McCrae’s residence in Charleroi. During the search, they say McCrae was found with approximately 34 grams of cocaine base on his person, and approximately three grams of cocaine was found in the same room. Elsewhere in the house, investigators say they found $3,300, multiple cell phones, and drug packaging materials, as well as a digital scale with white residue.
