Ex-Summit Township secretary sentenced for theft of funds

THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

SOMERSET – A former Summit Township secretary was sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to stealing township funding.

Patricia Johnson, 52, of Garrett, was sentenced Tuesday by Somerset County President Judge John Cascio to 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay court costs. She also was placed on three years probation and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation, the Somerset County Clerk of Courts office said.

Johnson was accused of forging the names of township supervisors and cashing checks for her personal use. She was charged Dec. 5, 2008, with theft by deception and multiple counts of forgery and tampering with public records. She pleaded guilty to the theft charge in a plea bargain with prosecutors.

In other police-related news:

Firearms conviction

A Johnstown man has been convicted of violating federal firearms laws.

Ariel L. Jeffers, 32, of the

300 block of McMillen Street, was convicted recently in federal court in Johnstown after jurors deliberated for 21/2 hours.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Haines, who prosecuted the case, evidence presented at trial established that Jeffers possessed a loaded .380-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Aug. 25, 2007.

Jeffers was convicted of a felony in Dauphin County in 2001. Federal law prohibits those who have been convicted of a felony from possessing firearms, Haines noted.

U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson set sentencing for April 15.

Drug indictment

A local resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Johnstown on a charge of distributing cocaine.

The one-count indictment named Keith E. Taylor, 26, of the 400 block of Messenger Street, Johnstown, as the sole defendant. He is accused of distributing less than 500 grams of cocaine on Sept. 17, 2008.

Crack case to court

A suburban Johnstown man will face Cambria County court action on charges of selling crack cocaine in Johnstown last summer.

Joseph Martin Raspotnik, 23, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday before District Judge Leonard Grecek of Roxbury.

Johnstown police said in a criminal complaint that Raspotnik sold one gram of crack

July 21 on Messenger Street in Hornerstown.

Cops follow footprints

ALTOONA – Altoona police followed footprints in the snow to catch a man who allegedly tried to burglarize a convenience store by throwing a brick through its window.

Joshua Phillips, 28, of Tennessee Ridge, Tenn., is in the Blair County Prison awaiting a preliminary hearing set for Wednesday.

Altoona police said they followed the tracks early Wednesday to a home where Phillips has been staying with relatives.

Police said Phillips claimed to be home asleep all night even though his shoes were wet and he had two pairs of wet pants with him. A brick found in the home was the same kind thrown through the store’s window and Phillips’ sneakers matched the snowy footprints.

Rape suspect charged

GREENSBURG – A Ligonier man is in the Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $50,000 straight cash bond on charges of rape and indecent assault on a 12-year-old girl.

State police said Michael J. Keeton, 23, committed the acts Aug. 13 and 14 at Marley Court in Sewickley Township, outside Greensburg. He was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge Charles Christner.

Death not from crash

INDIANA – A man who died in a Tuesday afternoon crash actually succumbed to natural causes, Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker said.

Joseph Lee Shaffer likely died of a heart attack while driving to a medical appointment, he said.

Shaffer’s Cadillac careened out of control on Water Street.

The vehicle struck a wall on College Lodge Road, drove onto a number of residential lawns and struck mailboxes, a street sign and finally a tree. The car overturned at least once before coming to rest upright on the road, authorities said.

Ex-officer acquitted

HOLLIDAYSBURG – A fired police officer from Blair County wants his job back now that he has been acquitted of charges that he used a baseball bat to smash the car of a pizza shop worker while off duty.

William Kudlawiec, a former Logan Township officer, was acquitted Wednesday of all charges in the Dec. 29 incident.

Township Manager Dave Pozgar said the firing should stand up to an arbitration appeal because the bat incident wasn’t the only reason the officer lost his job.

Arrests in theft

INDIANA – Two people have been arrested in connection with the theft of nearly $7,000 worth of musical equipment.

Borough police said Andrew Duncan, 21, of suburban Philadelphia, and Alyssia Mathis, 21, of Monroeville, were charged with theft.

The equipment was stolen from Duncan’s roommate, who authorities did not identify in a release. The theft took place Nov. 14 in the 600 block of School Street.

The suspects were arrested Monday and lodged in the Indiana County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail each.

Burglary and attempt

NICKTOWN – Someone broke into a Nicktown area home Tuesday and tried to break into another home a couple of blocks away, state police in Ebensburg said.

A Remington Model 870

12-gauge shotgun, two class rings and a Dell laptop computer were stolen in a break-in at a home in the 700 block of Dutch Run Road.

The burglar tried but failed to pry open locks on three doors at a residence in the 900 block of Dutch Run Road.

Home break-in

SOMERSET – Rent and Christmas money were stolen Wednesday evening from an apartment in the 100 block of West Main Street, borough police said.

A burglar got in through the dropped ceiling in the kitchen.

The burglar ransacked the bedroom before fleeing with the money.

Snowboard, boots taken

SOMERSET – Someone broke into a shed at Somerset Self Storage in Somerset Township and stole a snowboard and boots, state police said.

The items belonging to Jeremy Friedline, 24, of Somerset, were taken between Dec. 4 and Wednesday.

The Soloman brand snowboard is green and white and the Vans boots are black and

white.

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