27-month jail term given to Lawrence County woman for mail fraud

By The Tribune-Review Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a Lawrence County woman to serve 27 months in prison for embezzling from a Canonsburg business.

Carole L. McConnell, 48, of New Castle, who pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Maurice B. Cohill.

Prosecutors said McConnell embezzled $358,892 between February 2006 and April 2007 while she worked as the financial controller for AZCAR USA. McConnell forged company checks made payable to herself and her creditors, prosecutors said.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_621736.html

Police Make Arrest In Lawrence County Homicide

Shenango Twp (KDKA) - Police have arrested a Lawrence County man in connection with the death of a New Castle woman last month.

According to officials, Gaylord Spell, 44, of New Castle, has been charged with criminal homicide in the death of 40-year-old Sueann Brest, back on March 1st.

Police say it happened in the parking lot along Wood Street in Shenango Township.

An autopsy showed Brest died of multiple blunt force trauma.

Spell was arraigned and is now being held in the Lawrence County prison without bond.

http://kdka.com/topstories/Lawrence.County.Shenango.2.388749.html

PA Drug Sweep Arrests 25

Lawrence County law enforcement agencies team up to do some spring cleaning. Making at least 25 arrests as part of a county wide drug sweep.

The Pennsylvania State Police, New Castle Police and other neighboring law enforcement agencies began rounding up the suspects before dawn.

The charges include possession with intent to distribute drugs, including crack-cocaine and oxycontin.

"We had 34 arrest warrants sworn out, we picked up 25 individuals, sezied 5 weapons as well as 7,000 dollars in cash," says District Attorney John Bongivengo.

The District Attorney says the suspects arrested are mid-level drug dealers who have been under investigation for more than a year.

Search Warrant Questioned In Lawrence Co. Murder

Lawyers for an 11-year-old boy accused of killing his father's pregnant fiancée are questioning one of the search warrants used to collect evidence.

Jordan Brown is accused of shooting 26-year-old Kenzie Houk at a house in Wampum in February.

The defense says signatures on the search warrant investigators used to search the home did not have what it needed to be a valid warrant.

"We discovered that one of the four search warrants was not signed by the officer who obtained the warrant," Dennis Elisco, a defense attorney, said. "That would be the first in time which would have been [Friday, February 20th] at about 3:25 p.m."

Potentially at issue is whether the .20 gauge shotgun seized as evidence and said to belong to Jordan Brown can still be evidence in the case if the warrant is challenged and found to be invalid.

During a hearing this month, the prosecution's case so far ties Brown to the crime with evidence of gunshot residue.

But the prosecutor says a signature issue on a warrant is not enough to throw out the warrant.

"I don't see a problem with it at all actually," Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said. "There's one place that's missing a signature. The law requires that it be sworn – the affidavit of probable cause be sworn to by the officer … in front of the judge.

"The warrant is signed in those necessary places. The application for warrant is signed by the judge – I don't anticipate it actually being a problem," he added.

http://kdka.com/local/wampum.murder.warrants.2.971695.html

Lawrence County Pair Accused Of Running Meth Lab

March 30, 2009 NEW CASTLE, Lawrence County-- A New Castle man and woman face charges for running a meth lab from their home where they lived with three small children. Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett says police arrested the two for allegedly making and distributing methamphetamine in Butler and Lawrence counties. Corbett says 34-year old Rocco Wing and 33-year old Martha Mills are accused of running a meth lab in a second-floor bedroom in their Uber Street home. The couple have daughters 14 and 7 years old, and an 7-month-old infant. Corbett says the infant rode in the back seat while the couple sold drugs in November. The Attorney General also points out methamphetamine production is dangerous because it requires the use of various chemicals and solvents which are harmful and volatile. "These two defendants put the children who lived in this house in a very dangerous situation," Corbett said. "Aside from the dangers normally associated with drug dealing and drug use, these children lived in a home with a meth lab, which exposed them to harmful chemicals and could have easily exploded or caught fire." Investigators say they tracked the alleged meth making activity by monitory Mills and Wing making the purchase of 15 single-box purchases of Sudafed at various area pharmacies. The investigation shows that in one instance, Mills and Wing bought Sudafed from five different pharmacies within a one-hour period. Corbett say that Wing used false identification in eight out of the nine times he purchased Sudafed. Corbett points out that Sudafed contains pseudoephedrine, which is a key ingredient in methamphetamine manufacturing. The case will be prosecuted in Lawrence County by Deputy Attorney General Kristine M. DeMarco of the Attorney General's Drug Strike Force. Wing and Mills are charged with the following: Rocco Wing is charged with four counts of possession of methamphetamine, four counts of manufacture and/or possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, three counts of delivery of methamphetamine, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, one count of possession of hydrocodone, one count of manufacture and/or possession with intent to deliver hydrocodone, one count of delivery of hydrocodone, one count of manufacturing methamphetamine in a structure where a child is present, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of fraudulent acquisition of a controlled substance or immediate precursor, one count of possession of precursors/chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of identity theft, one count of false identification to law enforcement and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. Wing faces maximum penalties of $1 million in fines and more than 150 years in prison. Martha Mills is charged with five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of possession of methamphetamine, four counts of manufacture and/or possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine, three counts of delivery of methamphetamine, three counts of recklessly endangering another person, one count of possession of hydrocodone, one count of manufacture and/or possession with intent to deliver hydrocodone, one count of delivery of hydrocodone, one count of manufacturing methamphetamine in a structure where a child is present, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of possession of precursors/chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, one count of criminal conspiracy, and one count of criminal use of a communication facility. Mills faces maximum penalties of $500,000 in fines and more than 100 years in prison.

http://media.www.wcn247.com/media/storage/paper1389/news/2009/03/25/CommunityNews/Lawrence.County.Pair.Accused.Of.Running.Meth.Lab-3688997.shtml

Alligator Blamed For Starting Pennsylvania Fire

Story by wpxi.com

NORTH BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. --

A six-foot alligator rescued in an abandoned school on fire in Lawrence County may have also started the blaze.

The blaze began at the former Mount Jackson Elementary School, along Edinburgh Road, in North Beaver Township, near New Castle.

Authorities said the man who owns the property, Brian Simpson, was living with a menagerie of animals in the building, including the alligator, about 70 rabbits and unspecified "aquatic animals."

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is involved in caring for the animal.

Fire Chief Paul Henry said the building's owner believes the alligator started the fire by knocking over a portable heater. Firefighters removed the animal, but only after taping its mouth shut.

"I basically got on top of it," said Wes Osborne, of Crit-R-Done Wildlife Control. "One of the fellows in there had already handled it a little bit by the tail, and we were able to duct-tape it to keep anybody from getting bit."

Simpson wouldn't talk to Channel 11 News except to say he wanted the news crew off his land.

Neighbors said they've been complaining about the rundown property for years.

"My concerns are the hazard to children that play in the neighborhood," said neighbor Missy Argiro. "It's an eyesore, obviously. I've known that he's had animals in there for many years. We can hear dogs barking every night."

The Fish and Game Commission said no laws were broken, so they're turning all the animals back over to the owner.

Copyright 2009 by WPXI.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?id=62978&sectionId=46

Two New Castle men arrested; face various drug, sex charges

The men were arrested after an adult victim reported them to police.

STAFF REPORT

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Two city men faced testimony Wednesday that they let youths, some as young as 12, drink alcohol and smoke marijuana at their home.

Three of the children and an adult also testified they endured sexual and indecent assaults at the Wallace Avenue home of Daniel Joseph Donnelly, 51, and Michael Christopher Washington, 44. Donnelly is in the Lawrence County Jail on bonds totaling $105,000. Washington is also in jail on bonds totalling $125,000.

Most of the children said they’d known the men for about a year, visiting frequently to “hang out” with one another. The group included about eight friends. Donnelly is a relative of one of the teens.

New Castle police arrested the men Feb. 6. Donnelly is charged with aggravated indecent assault, statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors involving a 15-year-old girl. That girl testified at a preliminary hearing in Lawrence County Central Court that one night this winter, she’d smoked marijuana and fell asleep in Donnelly’s bedroom, awakening later to discover him sexually assaulting her.

Donnelly is also charged with indecent assault on a person less than 13 and corruption of minors. Those charges involve a 12-year-old boy, who testified Donnelly fondled and massaged his feet, taking videos of the massages and of his feet. The boy testified the fondlings happened “four or five times.”

Donnelly’s attorney, Joe Kearney, argued that the activity did not constitute an assault. Assistant District Attorney Kate Fee-Baird argued that because the activity was videotaped and because police found pornographic tapes in Donnelly’s room featuring foot fetishism, the charge should be upheld. District Magistrate David Rishel upheld it.

Rishel dismissed a charge of selling and furnishing liquor to minors in the case of a 12-year-old boy, who testified it was actually Washington who let him drink, while Donnelly smoked marijuana with him.

Two counts of corruption of minors and selling/furnishing to minors were upheld in a case involving a 16-year-old girl. Donnelly’s cases were transferred to the Lawrence County Common Pleas court, where he will plead or be tried.

Washington is charged with rape, statutory sexual assault, unlawful restraint, corruption of minors and selling/furnishing liquor to minors in a case involving the same 15-year-old girl.

She testified that she was alone with Washington in his bedroom, either in the fall or winter, and he started pressuring her to have sex.

“I said ‘no,’ and he said, ‘I am,’ and he had sex with me, and he said, ‘Don’t tell nobody,’” she said. The girl said she was not free to leave, because Washington had her arms pinned.

Washington also faces charges of rape of an unconscious victim, sexual assault and false imprisonment in a case involving a 36-year-old woman, who said she’d accompanied her 16-year-old daughter to the Wallace Street house for a Halloween party.

She said she got drunk, passed out and doesn’t remember anything else until the next morning, when she awoke “four feet away from my daughter in [Washington’s] room, with my pants and underwear off.” She said she asked him why her clothes were off, and when he wouldn’t tell her, she gave him “two days to give me an answer.”

Washington wrote her a letter, which was entered into exhibits. In it he admitted he’d had sex with her while she was unconscious.

She said that after she got the letter, she went to the Wallace Street house to learn the teens’ names and collect their belongings, because she intended to report what had been going on there to police. She reported the two men to police Feb. 2.

Washington is also charged with attempted statutory sexual assault, indecent assault on a person less than 16, corruption of minors and selling/furnishing involving a 13-year-old girl.

She testified that she stayed at the house for three days in January, and he tried “every day” to either kiss her or pull her pants down or her shirt up. “He kept saying he would have sex with me. Everyone told him I was 13. He said he didn’t care.”

Washington also faces corruption and furnishing charges involving a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy. His cases were held for Common Pleas court.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2009/feb/19/two-new-castle-men-arrested-face-various-drug/