State briefs
Man charged in slaying MEYERSDALE, Pa. (AP) – A man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s 17-month-old son, five weeks after he allegedly assaulted the toddler.
Prosecutors said they may seek the death penalty Todd M. Mitchell, 22, of Meyersdale. He was being held without bail at the Somerset County Jail Monday.
The child died four days after the alleged April 23 attack, but officials said an autopsy has not been completed. Police did not release details of the assault.
Assistant District Attorney Darryl Geary said prosecutors are seriously considering seeking the death penalty in the case.
Murder cases in this small town near Somerset are very rare, officials said.
“This is my first (murder case) in 24 years,” Meyersdale police Chief Ronnie Ackerman said.
Police became suspicious after interviews with Mitchell and the child’s mother, Heather McKenzie, varied widely, Ackerman said.
McKenzie has not been charged with any crime, Ackerman said.
Trailhead planned
NANTY GLO, Pa. (AP) – Borough officials hope the construction of a trailhead center, to be built with a $65,000 state grant along the Ghost Town Trail, will persuade cyclists to stay in town just a little longer.
More than 75,000 people use the trail each year, said Dee Columbus, who heads the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority.
Towns along the path are trying to boost revenue by becoming a more enticing spot for bicyclists.
“We’re hoping to see shops that traditionally come with trails, like bicycle rentals and small eateries,” Columbus said. “We also want to bring people into the downtown areas to boost businesses there and possibly attract new ones.”
About 16 miles of the trail connect Dilltown, Indiana County to Nanty Glo, with a final six-mile leg to Ebensburg expected to be completed this year.
Woman sought
PITTSBURGH (AP) – One woman is responsible for three armed bank robberies near Pittsburgh in recent weeks, the FBI said.
The latest heist took place Monday at a PNC Bank branch in Dormont, on the outskirts of Pittsburgh.
The woman walked into the bank in mid-afternoon, showed a handgun and demanded money, FBI spokesman Bill Crowley said.
“It’s definitely the same one,” Crowley said.
Descriptions of the robber, a white woman in her 20s, and the style of the robbery, match the accounts of robberies in West Mifflin on May 23 and in Brentwood on May 30, authorities said.
Couple kidnapped
SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) – A young couple sitting in a car found themselves unwilling passengers on a bizarre trip last weekend.
A man climbed into the car in which the couple was sitting, started the engine and began driving late Sunday night, police said.
John Edward Gaal, 26, of Friedens, made it only a short distance before ramming into a parked car, police said.
Undeterred, he drove to his home, less than a quarter mile away, where he found the keys to his own car and let the couple go, police said.
“He needed a ride,” state trooper Jeffrey Brock said. “He said he was drinking and wasn’t in his right mind.”
Gaal was arrested at his home and charged with felony robbery, kidnapping and related charges.
He was being held in the Somerset County Jail on $10,000 bond Monday.
Police did not release the name of the 19-year-old woman and 20-year old man who were in the car.
Prank probed
MT. LEBANON, Pa. (AP) – At least 13 people, dressed in black and using cell phones and two-way radios to communicate, glued 50 door locks at Keystone Oaks High School, police said.
Workers had to use solvents to open the doors so students could take year-end exams, which are scheduled to conclude Tuesday.
Police were tipped off to the prank by a passing motorist around 12:30 a.m. Monday. Two people were stopped in a car in the school parking lot and admitted to taking part, police said.
About 30 people were involved in the early planning of the prank, but many backed out, Superintendent Carl DeJulio said.
Police have not released the names of anyone allegedly involved.
Any seniors who are suspended will not be allowed to attend graduation Friday, school officials said.
Teen accused
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – A 15-year-old Penns Valley Area High School student is accused of sending e-mails saying that a shooting or a bombing would take place during the final week of school, police said.
The student sent the e-mails to a principal and a teacher over the weekend, police said. The e-mails said that a work area in the high school would be blown up and that the school should be shut down.
Police did not identify the student, the teacher or the principal.
The suspect has been arrested and is being held in jail pending a hearing, police said.
There have been no violent incidents at the school and officials said they are not concerned.
Pharmacist faces trial
YORK, Pa. (AP) – A pharmacist accused of selling Viagra illegally on the Internet will be headed directly to trial, his attorney said.
J. Theodore Wolpert has agreed to a trial without a preliminary hearing or a plea, said his lawyer, Gerald Lord.
Charges against Wolpert include violations of the drug act, conspiracy, deceptive business practices and conspiracy to illegally use a computer.
The case against Wolpert and his alleged co-conspirators – Patrick Gordon Ames and Chad Edward Sload – stemmed from grand jury testimony.
Sean Connolly, spokesman for the state attorney general, said a trial date had not been set.
Party price rises
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – There may soon be a price for loud parties.
Party-goers, and others who cause loud disturbances that bring out police, may end up having to foot the bill for the police response.
That’s because Ferguson Township officials have approved a new ordinance requiring those cited for “nuisance” calls to township police to reimburse the department for fees and costs.
Township Police Chief Ed Connor said the ordinance is aimed at about a dozen locations from which police receive repeated calls for disturbances such as loud parties and fights.
The new ordinance puts “more teeth” into warnings written by police, Connor said.
Charges could run as high as hundreds of dollars if a complaint ends up in court, officials said.
Charges dropped
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Charges of rape and aggravated assault have been dropped in the case of two Bethlehem men accused of assaulting a 19-year-old Moravian College student in March, authorities said.
But the two men, Dennis Holland, 28, and Kevin Woomer, 20, have been ordered to stand trial in Northampton County Court on lesser charges of indecent assault, harassment, conspiracy and sexual assault.
“The state did not make their case of the rape and aggravated indecent assault, so those charges were dismissed,” District Justice James Stocklas said.
An arrest affidavit filed in March said the woman invited the two men to her dormitory room on March 22 after a college party.
Both men then sexually assaulted the woman, police said.
Fisherman dies
EASTON, Pa. (AP) – An 82-year-old fisherman died in a boating accident while fishing for shad on the Delaware River, officials said.
Donald M. Teets fell out of his boat Monday morning and was pulled away by the current before being pulled under, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said.
Rescuers eventually reached Teets, but found that his heart had stopped and he was no longer breathing, Lysek said. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Teets later died at Easton Hospital. The cause of death wasn’t immediately determined.
Witnesses said they saw Teets headed upriver from the boat launch in Scott Park toward the Easton-Phillipsburg free bridge. But minutes later, around 10 a.m., they saw him floating downstream.
“The next thing I know, there he was,” said Dave Hager. “I got on my cell phone and called 911. He was 75 feet ahead of his boat.”
Robbery victim dies
READING, Pa. (AP) – A Reading man has died from injuries suffered after another man beat him with a baseball bat during an attempted robbery, police said.
Michael E. Annan, 35, died Monday in Reading Hospital, where he had been on a ventilator since Saturday night. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
On Saturday, Michael A. Ortiz Sr. beat Annan four times with a bat, police said. Ortiz is charged with attempted homicide and is being held in Berks County Prison on $1 million bail.
A woman, Kathleen J. McCabe, has also been charged as an accomplice in the killing.
McCabe and Ortiz apparently went to Annan’s apartment in an attempt to rob him, police investigators said.
Annan was found by his landlord Saturday afternoon and taken to the hospital, police said.