— Bolivar man convicted in baby girl’s death

GREENSBURG – A Bolivar man has been convicted of third-degree murder in the death of his 20-day-old daughter.

A Westmoreland County jury deliberated for about five hours Friday before convicting 26-year-old Clayton Mibroda.

Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker ruled the Dec. 27, 2011, death of Natalee Mibroda a homicide and said she died from head and chest injuries.

Mibroda took the stand earlier this week in his own defense and blamed Natalee’s mother for her death, the Indiana Gazette reported.

A third-degree murder conviction carries a sentencing guideline of 20 to 40 years in prison.

Mibroda’s sentencing will be held in about 90 days.

High court upholds murder conviction

INDIANA – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has refused to hear the appeal of a former state trooper serving life in prison for the 2006 slashing death of his live-in girlfriend’s estranged husband, a Blairsville dentist.

Attorneys for 46-year-old Kevin Foley contend evidence about bloody footprints found near John Yelenic’s body were used to inflame the jury.

Prosecutors said the footprints matched athletic shoes Foley was known to wear, and a Superior Court panel agreed last year.

The Supreme Court now has refused to hear an appeal of that ruling, which also noted Foley’s DNA was found under Yelenic’s fingernails.

Foley killed Yelenic April 13, a day before he was to sign papers in a divorce so acrimonious that Yelenic’s attorney tried unsuccessfully to get the divorce decree issued after his death.

City man pleads in firearms case

Johnstown resident George A. Robinson, 22, of the 400 block of Coleman Avenue, pleaded guilty to violating federal firearms laws before U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson on Friday.

In 2009, Robinson was convicted in Cambria County of attempted criminal burglary, a crime punishable by a term exceeding one year.

Then, on May 10, 2011, Robinson possessed a Taurus Millennium PT111 Pro 9mm pistol, prosecutors said.

Federal law prohibits a person convicted of a crime punishable by a term exceeding one year from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Robinson’s sentencing is scheduled for June 10.

He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Football player held for trial in rape

ALTOONA – A St. Francis University football player faces a trial in Blair County court on charges that he raped a woman in Logan Township on Nov 11.

Kalil Wynn, 18, of Edison, N.J., was bound to court Thursday at a preliminary hearing before District Judge Steven Jackson in Logan Township.

Wynn remains free on bail.

Other charges filed by the Logan Township police against Wynn include involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and indecent assault.

The Altoona Mirror reported that Wynn is accused of raping a 19-year-old Penn State Altoona student after she invited him and two of his friends into her apartment.

Shanksville SAT scores rank high

SHANKSVILLE – Shanks­ville-Stonycreek High School’s average SAT score last year ranked in the top 10 percent among Pennsylvania schools.

The 17 Shanksville students who took the college entrance exam averaged 1,571 with marks of 520 in verbal, 549 in math and 502 in the writing portion.

Shanksville had the 58th-highest average score out of 652 high schools across the commonwealth and the best average in all of Somerset County.

Poll: Sheetz tops convenience stores

Sheetz is, by far, Pennsylvania’s favorite convenience store, according to a new poll.

The Altoona-based chain received 51 percent of the vote when put up against Rutter’s, Wawa, Turkey Hill and 7-Eleven in a survey conducted by Harper Polling.

Second-place Wawa, a popular chain in the Philadelphia region, collected 26 percent.

There are more than 400 Sheetz locations in the mid-Atlantic region, including numerous stores throughout the Laurel Highlands.

 

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