New Castle Employee Charged With Theft

Posted: 5:18 pm EDT May 21, 2009Updated: 5:47 pm EDT May 21, 2009

NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A New Castle city employee was charged with 350 felony counts of forgery and theft.The city said Nancy Miles worked for the finance department for 30 years.In 2004, police said something didn’t look right. When they investigated, they said Miles stole $30 thousand over a four-year period of time.Police allege Miles was paying herself twice.They said she used her status in the payroll division to do it unnoticed for years.According to the criminal complaint, Miles claims she did nothing criminal. She called them loans, and said they were a common procedure in the department.This is the second public official in trouble in the last few months. Former parking authority director Gary Stone was charged with stealing $300,000 dollars in meter money.

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http://www.wpxi.com/news/19530763/detail.html

Ex-New Castle city clerk accused of stealing $30,000

May 21, 2009

NEW CASTLE, Lawrence County-- An ex-New Castle city employee faces charges of forgery and taking more than $30,000 from city funds.

Nancie Miles, a 59ear old former finance office clerk, was charged and arraigned in district court Thursday with 175 counts each of forgery and circulating a forged instrument, two counts of theft by unlawful taking and two counts of receiving stolen property.

She's now free on a $2,500 bond and returns to court on June 4 for a preliminary hearing.

New Castle Police say she stole the money from payroll and pension funds in a four year period beginning in 2004.

Man charged with molesting 8-year-old

Published May 19, 2009 08:16 am -

Man charged with molesting 8-year-old


New Castle News

An Ellwood City man is accused of molesting an 8-year-old girl.

Michael D. Partridge, 33, of 101 Woodrow Drive, was charged yesterday by Union Township police with aggravated indecent assault, involuntary sexual intercourse, unlawful contact or communication with a minor, indecent assault, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct.

He was arraigned before District Judge David Rishel and is in the Lawrence County jail on $100,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

According to police, between April and August 2006, Partridge had alleged indecent contact with the child, who was 8 years old at the time.

On Jan. 9, the officer said the girl told her mother about the of the alleged inappropriate conduct. Her mother took her to Lawrence County Children and Youth Services, where on Jan. 12 she was interviewed by Sandy Copper. The case was referred to Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo, and Union police were notified in late April.

The officer said he interviewed the girl and her mother at the police station on May 8.

http://www.adaeveningnews.com/ncnewsonline/archivesearch/local_story_136093745.html

Boy Pleads Not Guilty In Pregnant Woman's Death

The 11-year-old boy accused in the shooting death of his father's pregnant fiancée has pleaded not guilty to charges.

Jordan Brown entered the plea during a formal arraignment on Wednesday. He was arraigned as an adult in a Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

It is the first step in moving his case through court.

However, Brown's defense attorneys say they still plan to ask a judge to move the case to juvenile court.

If convicted as an adult, Brown could face up to life in prison.

The boy is accused of shooting 26-year-old Kenzie Houk at the family's farmhouse in Wampum back in February.


http://kdka.com/local/Jordan.Brown.plea.2.1003904.html

11-Year Old Murder Suspect Enters Not Guilty Plea

May 7, 2009

NEW CASTLE, Lawrence County-- The 11-year old Lawrence County boy charged as an adult in the murder of his father's fiancee and her unborn child says he's not guilty.

Fifth-grader Jordan Brown entered that plea in a formal arraignment hearing in New Castle on Tuesday. The boy faces two counts of homicide following the death of 26-year old pregnant Kenzie Marie on February 20. Police accuse the boy of using his 20-gauge youth hunting shotgun to shoot her in the back of the head while she was still in bed at her Wampum farmhouse.

Authorities brought Brown into the courtroom on Tuesday in handcuffs and shackles. After the hearing he returned to a juvenile detention center in Erie where he remains without bond.

Brown's defense attorneys say they still plan to ask a judge to move the case to juvenile court.

If he is convicted as an adult, he will spend his life in prison.

38-year-old from Lawrence County indicted on child porn charges

By The Tribune-Review
Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A federal grand jury indicted a New Castle man Tuesday on charges of transporting, receiving and possessing child pornography.

Court records state that Kelly Hardy, 38, communicated over the Internet with a person in Mississippi about his fantasies of "sneaking into houses" and "into little girls rooms." Hardy sent sexually explicit images involving girls ranging in age from 4 months to 5 years, an affidavit states.

Hardy has been in custody since last month when, court papers state, federal agents raided his house and found child pornography on his computer. He is scheduled to be arraigned May 15 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert C. Mitchell.

Lawrence Co. jury decides man should get death penalty for ’07 slaying

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — A jury deliberated for five hours today before deciding a New Castle man will die for the murder of a city woman.

Gaylord Spell, 46, was convicted Thursday of first-degree murder in the beating death of SueAnn Brest. Brest’s nude body was found March 1, 2007, in the parking lot of the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center in Shenango Township.

She had been struck in the head 10 times with a blunt object. Two of those blows, to her temples, splintered her skull into star patterns, said the forensic pathologist who conducted her autopsy.

Dr. James Smith testified during the penalty phase of Spell’s trial before Judge J. Craig Cox of Lawrence County Common Pleas Court.

Judge Cox will formally sentence Spell to death at a later date.

For the complete story, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com