Court cases
The following criminal defendants pleaded guilty the week of Dec. 12 before Greene County Judge Louis Dayich:
Nathan Ray Herrington, 31, of 121 Fairview Ave., Waynesburg; offenses – driving under the influence of alcohol and a summary violation; arrested Oct. 12, 2015, Herrington had a blood-alcohol content of 0.196 percent; sentence – 9 days to 6 months in jail; credit for 9 days served; $400 in fines.
Dylan Lee Costello, 24, of 189 Fox Hollow Road, Smithfield; offenses – DUI, driving while operating privileges suspended or revoked, two summary violations; arrested May 29, Costello had a BAC of 0.137 percent; sentence – 5 days to 6 months in jail; $550 in fines.
Sandra W. Riley, 64, of 713 Smokey Wood Drive, Pittsburgh; offenses – possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana; on July 26, 2015, Riley attempted to pass marijuana to her son, an inmate at the state Correctional Institution at Greene; sentence – 1 to 5 years in Greene County Jail.
Jonathon Chaz Balazick, 31, of 243 Rices Landing Road, Rices Landing; offense – conspiracy to possess contraband; Balazick conspired with his girlfriend, Natasha Celli, to bring drugs into Greene County Jail; on May 27, Celli threw a packet over the jail fence containing a syringe and five Subutex pills; sentence – 1 to 5 years in prison; deemed eligible for the Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive program, his minimum sentence could be reduced to 9 months.
Justin Antwan Comedy, 26, of 3068 Third St., Denbo; offenses – indecent exposure, open lewdness; on June 3, Comedy pulled his vehicle over on First Street in Pit Gas to ask a woman for directions; his pants were down and he was touching himself; sentence – 18 months of probation, $300 fine, 60 hours of community service, mental health evaluation.
Dusty Thomas Haught, 40, of 528 Mt. Morris Road, Mt. Morris; offenses – DUI, second offense in 10 years; driving while under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving while his operating privileges are suspended or revoked; stopped for a traffic violation on Nov. 30, 2015, Haught was under the influence of alcohol, marijuana and Hydrocodine; he was in possession of three Vicodin pills, a small amount of marijuana and a pipe; sentence – 150 days to 5 years in jail; $2,850 in fines; 200 hours of community service.
Jackie Edward Rutan Jr., 31, of 1460 Jefferson Road, Jefferson; offenses – three counts of receiving stolen property, six counts of theft from a motor vehicle; on April 28, Rutan stole cash and other items from six vehicles on Elizabeth Avenue and Coolspring Street in Jefferson; sentence – time served, from Nov. 11, to 5 years in jail; $1,260 in restitution.
Matthew David Arbogast, 32, 701 E. National Pike, Washington; offenses – DUI and two summary violations; one-vehicle crash happened at 2:10 a.m. Jan. 10 at 3080 Mt. Morris Road in Franklin Township; sentence – 2 days to 6 months in jail; $350 fine and $525 restitution to Karen Malzahn.
Bryan Keith White, 39, of Rices Landing; offenses – DUI, accident involving damage to attended vehicle and 17 summary violations; on March 5, White struck a car with his truck and left the scene of the crash at 1241 Crucible Road, Cumberland Township; sentence – awaiting a pre-sentence investigation.
Brian David Taylor, 30, of Butler; offenses – DUI, at 1:42 a.m. March 18, Taylor crashed into a parked car on State Route 188 in Jefferson Township; BAC level of 0.209; sentence – 30 days to 6 months in jail with credit for 31 days served; $650 fine and $4,725 restitution to Elizabeth Stahl; must complete 36 hours of community service.
Melanie Elain McClarren, 33, of 80 Jefferson Estates, Waynesburg; offenses – two counts of theft; in March, McClarren used a credit card belonging to a Mt. Morris man, whom she previously resided with, to pay for her phone bill and other items without his permission; sentence – five years of probation, $611 in restitution to Clear Mountain Bank, 100 hours of community service.
David Michael Strohmeyer Jr., 34, of 75 Beeson Ave., Marianna; offenses – possession of a controlled substance, possession with intent to deliver and delivery of a controlled substance; on Oct. 15, Oct. 17 and Nov. 11, 2013, Strohmeyer sold heroin to a drug task force confidential informant; 10 stamp bags were sold each time; sentence – 6 months to 5 years in jail with credit for 165 days served; Strohmeyer is currently being held in Washington County Jail for a different case.
Zachary Richard Dascenzo, 26, of Hunker; offenses – DUI and five summary violations; at 12:30 a.m. June 25, Dascenzo was pulled over for speeding on Route 88 in Jefferson Township; sentence – 5 days to 6 months in jail, $410 fine, 36 hours of community service.
Audrey Jean Lewis, 53, of 611 E. High St., Waynesburg; offenses – Lewis pleaded no contest to theft; between Dec. 9, 2014, and March 9, 2015, Lewis, who was an employee of Peebles in Waynesburg, allegedly made numerous false merchandise returns and kept the cash from the register totaling just under $400; sentence – three years of probation.