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Saturday, jun 6
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News
Ryan Routh Reportedly Tries To Stab Himself After Verdict In Trump Assassination Attempt Trial
There was chaos in court moments after a jury found Ryan Wesley Routh guilty in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the defendant reportedly tried to stab himself in the neck with a pen, triggering a chaotic scene as marshals rushed the defense table. The verdict was returned Tuesday, Sept. 23, in a South Florida courtroom overseen by US District Judge Aileen Cannon after the jury deliberated two hours. She described the courtroom commotion as an “outburst,” and Routh was forcibly removed before being brought back in shackles to be told he will be sentenced on Thursday, Dec. 18, ac…
News
Second Victim In Fatal US Steel's Clairton Coke Works Explosion Identified
The second person killed in Monday’s deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works has been identified as 52-year-old Steven Menefee of Clairton, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office announced. Menefee was pronounced dead at the scene after being pulled from the rubble Monday evening, officials said. He and Timothy Quinn, 39, of Westmoreland County, were both killed when the blast tore through the nation’s largest coke manufacturing facility just before 11 a.m. on Aug. 11. Timothy Quinn Facebook/Timothy Quinn @timothy.quinn.31 Ten others were injured in …
Business
Nippon Steel Deal Could Change After Deadly Clairton Coke Works Explosion: US Steel
U.S. Steel says its multi-billion-dollar Nippon Steel deal remains on track despite the Aug. 11 explosion at the Clairton Coke Works that killed two workers and injured 10. But at a press conference Tuesday, Aug. 12, the company hinted changes to the agreement could be coming — and won’t be known until the investigation into the deadly blast is complete. The facility was preparing for routine maintenance when a gas build-up triggered an explosion at coke oven batteries 13 and 14 at 10:51 a.m., Allegheny County Emergency Services said. The pressure valve released to batteries 19 and 20, creat…
News
Clairton Coke Works Worker ID'd As ‘Mama’s Boy’, Dad, Mentor After US Steel Explosion
The second victim of the deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works was a “mama’s boy” and devoted father of three who was raising five children, Governor Josh Shapiro said Tuesday, Aug. 12. Family identified him as 39-year-old Timothy Quinn a second-generation steelworker who followed his father into the industry and worked at the Clairton Coke Works for years. Quinn was deeply devoted to his family, helping raise his three children along with his girlfriend Lucy’s two children, friends said. According to his public social media, Quinn was a heater at U.S. Steel, previously wor…
News
‘Operation Powder Burn’: PA Man Still At Large Amid Huge NY Gun Trafficking Bust
A massive, eight-month investigation into an illegal gun and drug trafficking ring operating out of Orange County has resulted in the arrest of 20 people and the recovery of more than 55 firearms, hundreds of grams of drugs, and over $65,000 in cash, prosecutors announced. Dubbed “Operation Powder Burn,” the coordinated effort spanned multiple states and involved local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, making it the largest gun trafficking case in Orange County history, District Attorney David M. Hoovler said in an announcement on Friday, Aug. 1. The investigation re…
Police & Fire
FBI Hits Philly Homes After Virginia Hookah Lounge Shootout Tied To Motorcycle Gang: Police
A savage assault and shootout outside a Virginia hookah lounge triggered a massive multi-agency raid on the Wheels of Soul outlaw motorcycle gang, with nearly two dozen members now in custody, or on the run, across multiple states, authorities announced. The early morning April 13 brawl and shooting outside Babylon Café on Golansky Boulevard in Woodbridge left two men injured, one from a brutal beating and another with a gunshot wound, and both initially refused to cooperate with police. But the Prince William County Police Department didn’t let up. Following months of investigation, detec…
News
Dozens Of Guns Bought, Then Vanished, Only To Reappear In PA, NJ
A Philadelphia man who funneled dozens of guns into the hands of criminals is heading to state prison for up to 30 years, Bucks County prosecutors said. Anthony Jackson, 28, was sentenced to 12 ½ to 30 years after pleading guilty to charges connected to a major gun trafficking operation. Prosecutors say Jackson used his clean record to buy 29 handguns, mostly 9mm pistols, which he then sold to people who weren’t legally allowed to own them. Gun Bought In Bucks County Found With Felon Weeks Later The case began unraveling after investigators recovered multiple firearms used in crimes. One of…
News
Man Who Torched Car With ‘Napalm’ Outside US Capitol During Carter Memorial Dodges Prison
A Virginia man who torched his car with homemade “napalm” outside the US Capitol during President Jimmy Carter’s memorial will avoid prison time, federal officials said. Adrian J. Hinton, 36, of Lorton, was sentenced to one year of supervised release and 125 hours of community service for setting his vehicle on fire near the Capitol, according to the US Attorney’s Office in DC. Hinton pleaded guilty in January to one count of destruction of government property. The incident took place shortly before 5 p.m. on Jan. 8, when Carter's body was lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda. …
News
DoorDash Driver Shooting: NY Town Board Asks Highway Super To Step Down (
Update
)
Nearly two weeks after a DoorDash driver was allegedly shot by a New York town's highway superintendent, town officials are publicly responding to increasing calls for his removal and addressing the limits of their authority to act. John J. Reilly III, 48, who serves as Highway Superintendent for the Hudson Valley town of Chester in Orange County, was arrested on Saturday, May 3, after allegedly shooting a lost DoorDash driver who had pulled into his driveway asking for directions on Valerie Drive the night before. Police say Reilly told the driver to leave, and as the driver atte…
News
19-Year-Old College Student Firebombed Tesla Dealership While On Spring Break, Feds Say
A college freshman on spring break is now facing federal charges after allegedly tossing a Molotov cocktail at a Tesla dealership, torching two Cybertrucks in a late-night firebombing. Owen McIntire, 19, of Kansas City, Missouri, who attends college in Boston, was arrested and appeared in federal court in Massachusetts on Friday, April 18. Prosecutors say the charges stem from a Monday, March 17 blaze at the Tesla Center in Kansas City, where he’s accused of using incendiary devices, including one that didn’t detonate, to start a fire that destroyed two vehicles worth more than $100,000 eac…
News
Massive Explosion, Fire Injures 13 —Including 6 Firefighters — At Pennsylvania Chemical Plant
At least 13 people were injured after a massive industrial fire led to an explosion at the Parker LORD Corporation facility in Saegertown, Crawford County, on Sunday morning, Feb. 9. Fire officials were called to the chemical plant along South Street around 10:30 a.m. after an automatic fire alarm went off within the facility, according to a statement from the corporation. As crews worked to contain the fire, an explosion occurred at approximately 10:40 a.m., officials said. Chuck Lawrence, Saegertown Borough Emergency Manager, described the explosion as "major," stating, "The initial crew …
Police & Fire
Woman, Dog Found Dead At Back Door Of Home In Bucks County Fire: Police
An early morning fire Wednesday, Dec. 4 claimed the life of an adult woman and her dog in Bucks County, authorities said. Pennsylvania State Police Troop M responded to the blaze on the 1800 block of Mountain View Drive in Haycock Township around 4 a.m., State Police said. When troopers arrived, the residence was fully engulfed in flames. The woman and her dog were found deceased near the back door of the home, authorities said. The Troop M Fire Marshal is leading the investigation into the fire’s cause and origin, with assistance from the Dublin Criminal Investigation Unit, Troop M Forensi…
Police & Fire
2-Alarm Fire Guts PA Catholic School (
Videos
)
A two-alarm fire destroyed a Catholic school in Springfield Township on Monday, Oct. 7, according to authorities. Multiple fire departments responded to the report of a fire on the second floor of Saint Francis of Assisi Parish School, located at 112 Saxer Avenue, the Springfield Fire Company said on its Facebook page. Firefighters arrived on scene within 2 minutes of the report and found fire coming out of the second floor and extending to the building's roof at 5:08 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, according to the Springfield Fire Company. On October 7, 2024 at 508 pm Springfield Fire …
News
16 Indicted In Crime Ring Targeting Asian-American Jewelers Across Mid-Atlantic: Feds
An indictment of 16 members of a violent mid-Atlantic crime ring has been unsealed and the federal agencies are naming names. Of the 16, eight of the alleged crime ring members were arrested in the morning on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, police in Fairfax County, Virginia announced later that day. They were all arrested in connection to a violent crime spree that took place between Jan. 7, 2022, through Jan. 27, 2023. The crime ring members were all from Maryland and the District of Columbia. They met with their accused leader – Trevor Wright, also known as “Taliban Glizzy” …
News
Police Cruisers 'Engulfed In Flames' At Training Academy In Pennsylvania
Three police cruisers we're burned in a parking lot directly adjacent to a Police Training Academy in western Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Sept. 28, authorities say. Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire and Pittsburgh Police were called to the vehicle fire in Zone 1 shortly after 2:30 a.m., according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Upon arrival they found three Pittsburgh police cruisers "parked just outside the Academy building were fully engulfed in flames," as stated in the release. "Firefighters extinguished the fire in each cruiser and no one was injured. There was no damage to the building," au…
Police & Fire
Details Released In Mass Maryland Manufacturing Plant Shooting
UPDATE: Victims of Smithsburg workplace shooting identified. The gunman who killed four people and injured several others was being sought for homicide when he struck a 25-year Maryland State Police veteran Thursday, June 9, authorities said. Deputies responded to Columbia Machine Inc. on Bikle Road at approximately 2:30 p.m., where they found four victims, three of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. The fourth remains critical. The shooter fled the scene before law enforcement agencies arrived, and a description was released to responding …
Police & Fire
Details Released In Deadly Mass Smithsburg Shooting
Details have been released in the mass Smithsburg shooting that left three people dead Thursday, June 9. Deputies responded to Columbia Machine Inc. on Bikle Road at approximately 2:30 p.m., where they found four victims, three of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. The fourth remains critical. The shooter fled the scene before law enforcement agencies arrived, and a description was released to responding units. The suspect vehicle was tracked down by Maryland State Police troopers near Maplesville Road and Mount Aetna Road, where they exchan…
News
Raid Of Pagans Motorcycle Gang Members' PA Home Turns Up Weapons Of Mass Destruction: Police
Nearly a dozen "Weapons of Mass Destruction" were found in a home where three members of the Pagans Outlaw Motorcycle Gang lived, Bethel Park police say. The homeowner, Joseph Roberts, 36— who is a known member of OMG— along with his girlfriend, Christine Niedermeyer, 26, were arrested with Steven Albertson, 38, according to a criminal complaint filed by police and obtained by WPXI. The Allegheny County Bomb Squad and ATF, along with police, raided the home at 2544 Highland Circle in Pittsburgh, executing a warranted search for supposed narcotics activity on April 12, police said in a…
News
Jersey Shore Man Found With Rifle, Silencer, Bogus Federal Agent Badges Takes Plea
A Jersey Shore man who was caught with a handful of phony federal agent IDs in his own name admitted also having a homemade rifle and a silencer. Jeffrey Backlund, 57, of Waretown, took a deal from the government rather than face trial, pleading guilty on Wednesday, April 27, to illegally possessing all of them, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Backlund was arrested after a warranted search prompted by a domestic disturbance in September 2020 turned up “a number of firearms and imitation federal identification badges,” Sellinger said. “They found one short-barreled, AR-style, .223 …
News
$10K Reward Offered In Deadly PA Apartment Explosion: ATF
A $10,000 reward has been offered in connection with a deadly apartment explosion investigation, officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives say. Shanna Carlson, 34, was killed in the explosion at her apartment building located at 327 E. Market St. in Clearfield in 2019, authorities say. Carlson "died from penetration wounds to the head and right lung due to an explosive device," WJAC reported citing Clearfield County coroner Kim Shaffer-Snyder. This is considered a bombing and a homicide according to the multiple organizations investigating it. TAKE A LO…
News
GOT HIM! Man Wanted For PA New Year’s Eve Triple Homicide Captured By US Marshals
A man who was wanted for killing two mothers and a 12-year-old boy on New Year’s Eve in Pennsylvania has been taken into custody, authorities say. Ronald Steave, 29, has been arrested on charges in connection with the killing Wanda “Nandi” Fitzgerald, Tatiana “Tay” Hill, both 28, and Denzel “Buddy” Nolan Jr., 13, inside of Fitzgerald’s home in the 7500 block of Hamilton Avenue in Pittsburgh on Dec. 31, 2021 around 4 a.m., Pittsburgh city police said at the time. Steave was apprehended in McKeesport on Thursday, Mar. 24 at 5:12 p.m. in a coordinated effort by the ATF, US Marshals Wes…
News
Man Was High On Mushrooms When Coworker Killed Him In PA Cabin: DA
What a family believed was a “modern-day lynching,” appears to have been a case of a hallucinogenic drug trip turned deadly, authorities say. Peter Bernardo Spencer, 29, of Pittsburgh, was found dead in the front yard of a home his coworkers had rented and invited him to in Rockland Township on Dec. 12, at 2:26 a.m. by state police, according to a release by the Venango County district attorney’s office in January. “We believe in this case that there is enough evidence presented for self-defense that we are not going to be able to overcome our burden and show this was not self-defense bey…
Police & Fire
Ex-Philly Corrections Officer Straw Purchased, Resold Firearms On Social Media, DA Says
A former Philadelphia corrections officer was arrested for straw purchasing and illegally reselling five firearms — two of which have been recovered by police, authorities said. Amanda Barr, 37, of Trevose, was investigated after two of the guns she bought were discovered in the possession of felons – people who are not legally allowed to buy or carry a firearm, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said. Barr bought seven firearms from Dec. 16, 2018, to March 23, 2019, the DA said. Investigators say someone buying that many guns within a 98-day period is a common i…
News
Feds: NJ Drug Dealer Gets 10 Years, No Parole
An admitted drug dealer from Union County is headed to federal prison for 10 years. Tyrell "Hell Rell" Wilson, 36, of Rahway, must serve out just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Wilson was busted in September 2019 with ex-con Marvin "Black Jesus" Lagrier, 39, of Newark. Authorities said they seized cocaine base, heroin, fentanyl, drug-packaging materials, a gun and several rounds of ammunition after searching Wilson's vehicle and a backpack he tossed while trying to flee. They also recovered several Newark Housing Authority uniforms bearin…
News
Feds
: NJ Men Busted Following Three Fentanyl-Laced NYC Drug-Delivery Deaths
Two North Jersey men worked for a drug-courier service that peddled fentanyl-laced cocaine responsible for killing three customers in a single day, federal authorities in Manhattan charged. Billy "Jason" Ortega, 35, of West Milford was the dispatcher who sent Kaylen Rainey, 30, of Manhattan to three different city addresses on March 17, 2021 after promoting "new batches" of drugs, an FBI complaint on file in the Southern District Court of Manhattan alleges. Three customers -- Amanda Scher, Julia Ghahramani and Ross Mtangi -- all died after ingesting the coke, authorities said. Scher texted…
News
Jersey City Five Charged With Murder Of Rival Gang Member, Innocent Girl, 17
Five reputed members of a Jersey City street gang were charged federally with murder in the shooting deaths the same week of a rival and a 17-year-old female bystander. Shaquan "Nut" Rush and Darby "GoHard" Shirden, both 21, and Jeremy "Smoov" Perez, 23, opened fire on a group of people outside the Salem Lafayette Apartments on April 1, 2020 in retaliation for the killing the day before of a high-ranking member of their Rutgers Avenue gang, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. Two people were wounded, one of them an 18-year-old associate of the Salem Lafayette gang who survived the shoo…
News
Paterson Ex-Con Sent To Fed Pen For Nearly 5 Years For Selling Revolvers, Pistols, Rifles, Ammo
UPDATE: An ex-con from Paterson who'd already done state prison time for a gun conviction is headed to federal prison for nearly five years for selling 16 weapons smuggled into New Jersey. Rather than face trial, Floyd “HK” Henry, 36, took a deal from the government, pleading guilty via videoconference with a federal judge in Newark last summer to gun selling, as well as being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammo. Henry sold two semi-automatic rifles, three revolvers and 11 semi-automatic pistols – as well as over 100 rounds of ammunition -- when ATF agents arrested him in S…
News
Pagans Shoot At Hells Angel On NJ Turnpike After Baseball Bat Bar Brawl, Feds Charge
Two high-ranking members of the Pagans who were beaten with baseball bats in a barroom brawl sought revenge by shooting at one of the Hells Angels on the New Jersey Turnpike, federal authorities charged. Larry "Savage" Ortiz, 31, of Elizabeth, and Junius "Jayo" Aquino, aka 38, of Vauxhall, were in a Verona bar when they were attacked on Oct. 21, 2020, U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger said. A week later, the pair shot at an associate of the rival biker gang "in retaliation for the Verona assault," an indictment returned by a grand jury in Newark charges. The indictment retur…
News
NJ Ring That Dealt Fentanyl, Crack Smashed By Federal, County, Local Crime-Fighting Team
Eleven accused members of a drug ring that authorities said openly peddled crack and potentially fatal fentanyl in a Newark neighborhood were charged federally on Wednesday. The ring's "primary supplier," Frazier Burton, 46, was caught with 100 bricks of heroin and fentanyl when tactical officers arrested him Wednesday morning, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. At 50 bags per brick, that's 5,000 individual packages -- all of which Honig said carried the neighborhood drug network's particular stamps. The case took several months for an ad hoc team of local, county and federal inve…
News
‘90 Day Fiance’ Barber Wanted Months After Deadly PA Shooting
A former barber who appeared in ”90 Day Fiance” and “90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?” is still at-large seven months after he allegedly shot and killed his former boss. Michael Anthony Baltimore, 43, of Carlisle, is wanted as the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of GQ Barber Shop owner Kendell Jerome Cook, 39, of Steelton, according to police. For an unknown reason Baltimore came to the shop, located at 128 North Hanover Street in Carlisle, opened fire at Cook and then shot at another former barber, Anthony White, according to police at the time. White survived but Cook died at …
Police & Fire
3 Arrested For Gun Trafficking Across Greater Philadelphia Region: DA
Three men were charged in connection with a gun trafficking ring that operated across several counties in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2020, authorities announced Monday. Tyrone Dansby, 24, and an 18-year-old charged with juvenile conduct, both of Philadelphia, are accused of conspiring to buy 69 firearms in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, and Lehigh counties with the intent of re-selling them without serial numbers, according to Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Justice Matthew P. Varisco. Additionally, Quam…
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