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Monday, feb 3
Tag:
Drug Abuse
News
Chester County Man With Traumatic Brain Injury Pleads Guilty To Lancaster County Crime Spree
A Chester County man blamed a traumatic brain injury and addiction for his months-long crime spree across Lancaster County, which ended in a violent crash, prosecutors announced on Tuesday, Dec. 24. James Steffy, 41, of West Ridge Road in West Nottingham Township, pleaded guilty to 35 charges, including aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, burglary, theft, and access device fraud, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office. Steffy suffered a traumatic brain injury that caused significant memory loss after crashing a stolen vehicle head-on into a…
News
Caretaker Accused Of Stealing Up To $200K From Patient For Drugs In Lancaster County
A Lancaster County caretaker is accused of stealing prescription drugs and up to $200,000 from a patient she cared for, authorities said. Jamie Lynn Lloyd, 42, of Lilitz was charged with Dealing in Proceeds of Unlawful Activities, Identity Theft, Financial Exploitation of an Older Adult or Care-dependent Person, Theft by Deception, Criminal Use of Communication Facility, Access Device Fraud, Unlawful Use of Computer and Other Computer Crimes Arrest, according to Manheim Township police. In the spring of 2023, Lloyd began voluntarily helping the victim, including taking them to appointm…
News
Mousa Hawa Holly Beck Ran Fund For Son They Allegedly Killed
The Coatesville parents charged with their son's overdose death last July launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral expenses. The verified campaign raised $895 after it was posted on July 30, 2023. "My name is Mousa Hawa I am asking for help to cover cost for my son Hunter Hawa," the campaign reads. "He passed suddenly 7/26/2023 we are having him cremated and then we will have a service for him(.)" Hawa and Holly Back are each charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in Hunter's July 26 overdose death, the Chester County District Attorney'…
Police & Fire
Mom On Drugs Injures 3-Week-Old Infant During 'Incident' In Enola: Police
A 35-year-old mom with criminal records in five Pennsylvania counties is behind bars again for allegedly injuring her 3-week-old infant while high on drugs, East Pennsboro Police explained in a release on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Chynna-Blu Nagle, originally of Milroy but most recently of Enola, was found "on controlled substances and was attempting to care for her 3-week-old child," at 7:37 a.m. on Feb. 15, as stated in the police release. Officers had been called to a "medical incident" in the 200 block of South Enola Drive, Enola. Arriving officers soon "determined the 3-week-old …
Police & Fire
Lititz Mom, Nurse Takes Clonazepam, Amphetamine Before Head-On Crash With Son In Car: Affidavit
A 43-year-old mom of two allegedly caused a head-on crash into a tree by driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Northern Lancaster County Regional Police detailed in a release on Thursday, Feb. 9. Kristen Leigh Gantz of Lititz crashed a black Honda Pilot into a tree along East Oregon Road, Manheim Township around 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, according to Officer William R. McHale IV in the affidavit of probable cause obtained by Daily Voice. Gantz crashed in such a way that she "could only be freed by mechanical means," as stated in the affidavit. In the meantime, her 16-yea…
Police & Fire
NJ Man Sought For PA Dad's Fentanyl Death: Prosecutors
Months after a Pennsylvania father of two died from a drug overdose, authorities are seeking his New Jersey coworker who they say gave him the bag. Steven Nitschke, 33, was found dead in his Stroudsburg home in March, and his cause of death was ruled fentanyl toxicity in his autopsy, said the Monroe County District Attorney's Office. County detectives claim Nitschke got the drugs from his 39-year-old coworker Edwin Burgos, who allegedly said it was heroin. Burgos' whereabouts are unknown to police, but he is thought to frequent the East Stroudsburg area nea…
News
Mom Charged For 5-Year-Old's Fentanyl Overdose Death: PA AG
Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has charged a mom for the overdose death of her daughter, according to a release on Tuesday. Volaura 'Val' Askew "allegedly exposed her 5-year-old daughter to fentanyl/heroin in the hours and days before the child was found dead in her Johnstown home on October 27, 2022," the Attorney General explained. Albert Spicer and Elyse Young, of Johnstown, who have also been charged with drug-dealing offenses in this case, were hosting Askew at a drug stash house owned by Young following Spicer's release from prison from a separate offense, ac…
Police & Fire
Bethlehem Parents Charged In Toddler's OD Death: Reports
Two parents whose toddler son died of a fentanyl overdose in Bethlehem last summer now face criminal charges, reports LehighValleyLive.com. Nicole Stauffer, 45, of Bethlehem, and Christian Brewster, 25, of New York, are charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony child endangerment, according to filings in Northampton County court. Stauffer, Brewster, and their 2-year-old son were lounging in their shared bedroom on July 5, 2022, when Stauffer and the child fell asleep, LVL wrote. The mother woke up but eventually realized her son was unresponsive and that his lips had turn…
Police & Fire
Kids Strangled, Burned, Tortured By Cruel Pennsylvania Aunt: DA
A 19-year-old Pennsylvania aunt is facing more than 200 criminal charges after authorities say she beat, burned and tortured the four children — three of whom were her nieces and nephews — she was living with over a period of years, authorities announced. Anais Munoz — who was being held in the Passaic County, NJ jail as of Tuesday, Jan. 24 — used a "wide range of implements" to exert control and fear over the four kids, who are currently between 7 and 13 years old, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said. Munoz moved into the Chester family's home in 2020, and immediately began the a…
Police & Fire
Parents Accused Of Bringing Kids To Buy Drugs In Philly Area: Report
A Pennsylvania couple brought their children with them to buy drugs in the Philadelphia area and frequently left them to fend for themselves, NorthPennNow reports citing authorities. The Bucks County mom and dad, who were already under investigation for drug-related matters, were charged in August, approximately three months after Pennsylvania State Police received a Childline referral about siblings who were repeatedly exposed to drugs, the outlet says. The two children under the age of six told investigators that they saw their parents "pass out" on multiple occasions and drew a pict…
Police & Fire
PA BF Didn't Want To 'Waste Narcan' On Pregnant Girlfriend Who OD'd On V-Tine's Day: DA
A Pennsylvania man who gave his pregnant girlfriend the drugs that killed her also refused to save her, authorities said in announcing his arrest. It was Valentine's Day 2022 when Christopher Barbuto, 40, gave 28-year-old Courtney Wilson heroin and/or fentanyl, and two suspected Xanax pills, which were found in her purse near her body in Phonoexville, Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said. Barbuto is also accused of giving Wilson alprazolam and methamphetamine, Ryan said. A toxicology report released by the Chester County Coroner's Office on Tuesday, Aug. 16 found that she die…
News
Former Drexel Neurology Chair Who Sexually Abused Patients Dies By Suicide In Jail: AP
Drexel University's former chairman of the neurology department convicted of sexually assaulting patients died by suicide in a New York City jail, sources tell the Associated Press. Dr. Ricardo Cruciani was found unresponsive in a shower area of the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island Monday, Aug. 18, the AP reports. The 68-year-old doctor's attorney confirmed that he died but not the manner of death. Cruciani, who was facing life in prison, allegedly got dozens of female patients hooked on painkillers he prescribed before sexually abusing them over the course of 15 years at area h…
Police & Fire
PA Third Grader Shared Pot Edibles With 9 Friends — Then All Were Hospitalized: Reports
Several elementary-aged students in Pennsylvania were taken to the hospital after eating edible marijuana, authorities said. The incident happened Wednesday, May 25 in Chester (Delaware County) when a third-grade student at the Chester Community Charter School brought what police say were pot edibles, and shared them with at least nine other students, according to police and NBC10. Ten students were taken to a local hospital for treatment and later released, the outlet says. The incident remains under investigation by Chester City Officer Jose Alvarez, police said. Click here for…
Police & Fire
PA Dad Wanted In Fentanyl-Related Death Of Infant Son Surrenders
Police have arrested a 25-year-old Pennsylvania dad wanted in the fentanyl-related death of his infant son, they said. Daniel Howarth was remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10 million bail, Bensalem police said on Wednesday, March 23. A warrant was issued for his arrest on Thursday, March 17. Felicity Westmoreland, the four-month-old baby's mother, and his grandmother, Donna Westmoreland, have also been charged in the case, authorities previously said. Bensalem police officers responding to a report of an infant in cardiac arrest found the baby unresponsive…
News
PA Woman Bound With Duct Tape In Bathtub, Beaten With Hammer, Police Say
A man is accused of duct-taping his girlfriend into a bathtub and beating her with a hammer, according to police in Luzerne County. Matthew Nelson, 28, of Wilkes Barre, is accused of taping a woman, placing her into a bathtub and repeatedly hitting her with a hammer, as first reported by cbs21. The woman somehow got free, fled from the apartment she shared with Nelson, as he chased her with a hammer, smashing her car windows. She made it to a police station and reported what happened on Sunday. She had marks and bruising from the “hammer attack” on her wrists, ankle, arm, and an…
News
Family Of Mom Killed By BF Shares Her Domestic Violence Struggle As Cautionary Tale
Those who knew Pennsylvania's Jamie Beighley say she loved Evan Smith despite years of abuse suffered by him. Even when he hurt her physically, even when he yelled at her, Beighley remained determined to fix her relationship. But things hit rock bottom earlier this year, according to a family member, who requested anonymity -- and Beighley was losing hope. "Evan told her numerous times that he was going to kill her and the kids, just within the past few months," the family member told Daily Voice. "[Jamie] even said, 'Either he's going to die or I'm going to die. It's the only way out.'" …
News
Harrisburg Dentist Arrested For Assaulting Women, Including Raping Girl, 15, Say Police
A Harrisburg dentist has been charged with raping a Snyder County teenager and assaulting her mother, according to local police. Michael Boyd Damgaard, 33, pretended to be a younger man named “Dominik”-- contacting a 15-year-old girl on SnapChat and repeatedly assaulted her between May 12 and June 19 of 2020, according to court documents. The girl claims he sent her a message threatening to kill her if she did not meet him June 19 in the woods off Bucksey Road; that day her mother saw her leaving the woods with him and notified Pennsylvania State police. The mother tried to keep Damgaard a…
News
New Jersey Mom 3 Years Sober Shares Inspiring Recovery Story Amid Daughter's Custody Battle
A New Jersey mom who spent nearly half her life addicted to heroin and crack is sharing her inspiring addiction recovery story as she fights for custody of her 9-year-old daughter. Madison McManus was 15 years old when her then-boyfriend introduced her to the hard drugs "I was always very self conscious and never felt comfortable in my own skin," the now-28-year-old said. "I felt like I wasn't a part of. But alcohol and drugs brought me out of myself. "They were like a temporary mask and I didn't have to worry about if I was good enough or going to fit in. I didn't care." Avoi…
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