NEW CASTLE — Four western Pennsylvania teens have been charged in a drive-by squirt gun attack, and police say the parents of one teen will also be charged with disorderly conduct for yelling at officers who were investigating the incident.
The New Castle News reports Friday that the incident happened just after midnight early Wednesday.
Police say a woman and her brother were squirted with chlorinated water and called police who traced the license plate to one of the suspects.
Police say the four teens in the car acknowledged wetting the others with squirt guns and were charged with harassment and disorderly conduct.
The parents of one of the teens cited will also be charged for allegedly yelling at and insulting officers who were questioning the teens.
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Car thief swiped earrings off baby left inside
ALLENTOWN — Police say a Pennsylvania thief stole an SUV with a baby inside as the mother unloaded groceries, then swiped the little girl's gold earrings before ditching the vehicle.
The 1-year-old was unhurt and quickly reunited with her mother after the car was stolen Wednesday afternoon in Allentown.
Investigators say the girl's mother left the baby in her car seat in the air-conditioned vehicle while she unloaded groceries at home. Temperatures on Wednesday were in the 90s.
The thief dumped the car about two miles away. A man passing by heard a ringing cellphone inside the vehicle and saw the abandoned baby.
The Morning Call of Allentown reports that a diaper bag containing the mother's purse was also stolen.
The theft remains under investigation.
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Pittsburgh police seek man who shot at officers
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police have been searching for a man who fired shots at plainclothes officers who got out of their patrol car when they saw the man with a gun in his waist band.
Police say they don't know who the man is and that they returned fire. Nobody was hurt by the gunfire.
The officers were patrolling the South Side, a working class neighborhood, part of which has been redeveloped with nightclubs and entertainment venues that have prompted police concerns about drunkenness and after-hours violence in recent months.
Police say the shots were fired about 2:30 a.m.
One person was arrested after police found drugs in a car nearby.
Police say the gunman crouched down and opened fire as police got out of their car, then ran away.
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Police use luggage cart to move fight suspect
CORAOPOLIS — Police say they had to use a luggage cart to remove a man from a hotel near Pittsburgh International Airport after he allegedly fought with police.
Online court records don't list an attorney for 41-year-old William Henry Crisman, of North Fayette Township. Calls to Crisman's home phone didn't go through Friday, and he faces a preliminary hearing July 3 on charges including aggravated assault and resisting arrest.
Moon Township police say they responded to the Airport Marriott about 4 p.m. June 11 for a complaint about an unpaid cab fare. An officer who went to Crisman's room to get the money says the man, instead, told the officer to "put gloves on if he wanted to dance."
Police say Crisman spat and kicked at police before hotel staff supplied a cart to wheel the handcuffed man away.
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3 teens charged in fatal shooting
CORAOPOLIS — Three teenagers are in custody facing adult charges in the fatal shooting of a suburban Pittsburgh man.
Sixteen-year-old Jon Lee is charged with homicide along with Brandon Lind and Dmetrei McCann, both 17. Police say they were with a 22-year-old man who shot and killed Slippery Rock University student Jordan Coyner in what investigators say was a botched robbery.
Authorities say Devele Reid shot and killed Coyner on Monday night in his parents' home in Kennedy Township, Allegheny County. Reid was arrested Tuesday.
Lee, Lind and McCann were arrested Thursday and awaiting arraignment. It wasn't clear if they had attorneys.
Reid said after his arraignment the shooting was an accident and "never meant to go like that."
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Cardiology practice settles harassment suit
WASHINGTON — A southwestern Pennsylvania cardiology practice has agreed to pay three female employees $125,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit brought on their behalf by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A woman who answered the phone Friday at Donohue Cardiology Associates in Washington, Pa. says no one will be commenting on the settlement announced by the EEOC.
The government contends three male cardiologists who headed the practice created a hostile work environment by making "sexually offensive and debasing comments" to a registered nurse and two other female employees, and showing explicit pictures and messages on a cell phone.
The EEOC also contends the doctors fired the nurse for complaining about the harassment.
The nurse will receive $60,000, with the rest being split by the other workers. The doctors have agreed to stop such conduct in the future.
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Ex-lawmaker denies corruption allegations
HARRISBURG — A former Democratic state representative on trial for corruption denied that he directed his staff to do political work on state time.
Former Rep. Stephen Stetler testified for three hours in his own defense on the fourth day of his trial in Dauphin County Court on Thursday.
Some prosecution witnesses testified earlier that they routinely did campaign work on state time using taxpayer resources and e-mails that included Stetler's name. But four former staff members testifying for the defense Thursday said the former York County lawmaker made it clear that campaign activities were to be kept separate from legislative work.
The 62-year-old Stetler, a one-time chairman of the House Democratic Committee, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of theft and one count each of conspiracy and conflict of interest.
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Altmire breaks voting streak to honor veteran
ELLWOOD CITY — U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire recently broke his personal House voting streak at 4,734 — but the western Pennsylvania congressman says he had a good reason to do so.
Altmire who takes voting so seriously he left his district on primary election day so he could return to Washington, D.C. for a vote, decided attending a Medal of Honor ceremony for a veteran was more important on May 16.
That's when former Ellwood City resident Sgt. Leslie Sabo Jr. was honored at the White House.
Sabo was killed when his unit was ambushed by North Vietnamese soldiers in Cambodia in May 1970.
The Beaver County Times reports Friday that Altmire has introduced legislation to rename Elwood City's post office for Sabo.
Ellwood City is about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
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Pa. high court approves indicting grand juries
PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania's Supreme Court says prosecutors can now use grand juries to bring indictments in situations where they say witness intimidation could have a chilling effect on their case.
The order issued Thursday reinstates the use of indicting grand juries, which were abolished as unnecessary in Pennsylvania in 1976.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams lauded the policy change, telling The Philadelphia Inquirer the majority of shootings in the city involve witness intimidation.
With an indicting grand jury, a witness would not have to testify in open court until a case goes to trial.
Some defense lawyers questioned the change, saying it would only delay the inevitable dismissal of weak cases.
Justice Seamus McCaffery says the reintroduction of indicting grand juries will make the lives of both victims and witnesses easier.
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