Police Beat May 1
CANONSBURG
Shots fired: Canonsburg police are investigating a report of shots fired inside the Frederick Court housing complex. Police said a man admitted to accidentally firing his shotgun while unloading it Saturday night. The pellets went through a closet and duffel bag, striking the wall of a neighboring residence but not penetrating it.
Property damaged: Carl Ward of Hooks Lane told Canonsburg police Sunday his yard and landscaping was damaged by a hit-and-run driver Sunday.
CECIL
Two face charges: Tyler Cline, 26, and Hunter Weaver, 22, both of Summerlea Avenue, Washington, each face charges filed by Cecil police stemming from an April 20 traffic stop on Georgetown Road. Police could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle. Weaver reportedly admitted to police she smoked marijuana before driving. Cline told police the marijuana and paraphernalia in the vehicle were his. A 2-year-old child also was in the vehicle. Both will be charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Cline will be charged with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Warrant arrest: James Vanderlee, 35, of Reed Street, McDonald, was taken into custody Friday by Cecil police during a traffic stop as a fugitive from justice. Police said he was wanted by West Virginia state police on a felony warrant for theft of a firearm. He is in Washington County jail awaiting extradition to West Virginia.
MT. PLEASANT
Teen charged: Danielle Lynn Hertzler, 18, of 647 Millers Run Road, Cuddy, was charged by Mt. Pleasant police with driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to stop at a stop sign after she almost struck a township police cruiser April 22 in the 200 block of Main Street, Hickory. Hertzler reportedly pulled in front of the cruiser, causing Officer Maria Cuccaro to slam on the brakes to avoid a crash. Hertzler’s blood alcohol level was more than seven times the 0.02 level presumed for intoxication in drivers under the age of 21.
NORTH STRABANE
Trespass charges: Emma Tackett, 18, of 1400 Main St., Cecil Township, and Andrew John Vecchio, 18, of 124 Saddlebrook Lane, North Strabane, were arrested Saturday afternoon by North Strabane police on charges of criminal trespass after they allegedly entered an unoccupied office building at 164 Conklin Road. Two other teenagers also reportedly entered the building. Tackett also was charged with defiant trespass because she previously had been told to stay out of the building. Both were arraigned before District Judge Larry Hopkins and placed in Washington County jail on $25,000 bond. Tackett has since been released after posting bond.
PETERS
Drugs, weapons arrest: Mark Anton, 60, of 110 Fireside Drive, McMurray, was arraigned Friday on charges of person not to possess firearms and possession of marijuana, heroin and paraphernalia after Peters police served a search warrant at his home April 18. Police found the suspected drugs along with seven long guns and three handguns at his home. He was arraigned before District Judge Jesse Pettit and released from Washington County jail after posting a $15,000 percentage bond.
SOUTH STRABANE
Interstate crash: State police have identified those involved in a five-vehicle crash about 9 p.m. Friday on Interstate 70 east between the Beau Street exit and the south junction with Interstate 79, South Strabane. Police said a pickup truck driven by Michael Pachella, 31, of Vanderbilt, was traveling at a high rate of speed and struck the rear of a car driven by Shirley Rutledge, 62, of Gastonia, N.C., which was stopped for highway construction. It set off a chain-reaction crash. The other drivers were identified as Susan L. Moore, 48, of Marianna, Rebekah Young, 40, of Amity, and Ronda Shaffer, 58, of Ravenna, Ohio. Rutledge and her passenger, Steven J. Hancock, 26, also of Gastonia, were flown to UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh. Moore and a passenger in her car, Walter Moore, 53, also of Marianna, were taken to Washington Hospital for treatment. Assisting at the scene were South Strabane firefighters and Washington County sheriff’s deputies.
One injured: Danielle Anderson, 30, of Broad Avenue, Belle Vernon, was injured in a three-vehicle, chain-reaction crash on East Maiden Street near Redd Run Road at about 10 p.m. Friday, South Strabane police said. Her vehicle was hit from behind by a vehicle driven by David E. Gaito, 27, of Blanche Road, Fredericktown, forcing it into the back of a vehicle driven by Michael Nicholas, 50, of East Maiden Street, Washington. Anderson was taken to Washington Hospital for treatment.
Tires punctured: South Strabane police said four tires on a Ford F-550 truck were punctured Saturday at Pancake Towing, East Maiden Street.