POLICE: Weekly Police Blotter

DUI/CRASH/EVADING POLICE:
Isiah Carr, 28, of Ellwood City, is facing 17 charges after a vehicle crash into trailer, home during police chase on October 14th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 11:05 p.m., police were dispatched to a residence on Guy Way, Wayne Township for a welfare check. One scene police observed Carr slumped over the steering wheel of a silver Nissan Altima, parked in a driveway. Police attempted to contact Carr who was found to be in a daze, and who immediately placed the vehicle in reverse in an attempt to elude police. According to the report, Carr drove out of the driveway and struck a mobile home, and around the mobile home into an adjacent backyard and struck a trampoline. Carr then exited the mobile home park and drove east on Wampum Avenue with police pursuing the report relates. Carr led police on a chase that led into Ellwood City and Line Avenue where Carr turned off the headlights to avoid apprehension and continued to drive in complete darkness. According to the complaint, Carr then struck three mailboxes and finally crashed his vehicle into a residence on Hillside Avenue, while attempting to turn from 4th Avenue in Ellwood City. After the crash, Carr fled on foot before being apprehended by police. Carr was found to be impaired consistent with recent opiate use and a silver revolver was discovered in plain view on the vehicle’s front dash. A criminal check of Carr’s history showed that he has a prior arrests including a felony conviction and is not to possess a firearm. Carr was placed under arrest and refused to be transported to a hospital for a blood draw. A search warrant of the car discovered products and materials indicia of the use and sale of narcotics. Carr was arraigned on charges that include fleeing police, DUI, running stop signs and red lights, careless driving, driving without headlights, reckless driving, driving without a license, and possessing a firearm. Bond is set at $50,000.

CRIMINAL HOMICIDE (UPDATE):
Yohance Mercer-Huffman, 28, has been arrested and charged with Criminal Homicide after an incident on September 30th on River Road, Perry Township that left a Corry, PA woman dead. According to a criminal complaint, police responded to River Road in Perry Township at approximately 3:19 a.m. for a report of a vehicle that had gone over a hillside. First responders found 39-year-old Julie Anne Wegmiller shot dead inside a Toyota pickup truck. A 40-year-old male passenger was found in critical condition and transported to a hospital. Investigators conducted numerous interviews during a neighborhood canvas which resulted in the arrest of Mercer-Huffman. An autopsy was performed on the victim and a black dread lock of hair held in the victim’s hand was collected during the autopsy. On October 9th police interviewed the male victim, Edwin Wegmiller, at a hospital who related that he and his wife drove to Ellwood City from Corry, PA and met a black male with dread locks at a house in Lawrence County. He related the black male was accompanied by a black female who both joined them to multiple Lawrence County bars. Wegmiller related he stayed in the truck while the black male went into the bars and further related that after they left the last bar they went to a residence, but he developed a strange feeling and told his wife to leave. According to the complaint, Wegmiller began to drive away when a black male with dread locks jumped into the rear passenger side of the truck and brandished a firearm, shooing him multiple times. Wegmiller related the black male shot his wife once, killing her, and that the vehicle then crashed. Furthermore, investigators located a witness who was present with the Wegmiller’s at the residence prior to them being shot. According to the complaint, a witness had observed an unfamiliar truck parked in front of the residence occupied by two individuals who the witness was able to identify as the Wegmillers. The witness observed the truck pull away from the residence and that Mercer-Huffman jumped into the backseat of the truck as it drove away. The witness observed the truck drive down Wilson Avenue, through a stop sign, and across River Road into a grassy area and that a few seconds later a loud noise. According to the complaint, the witness then relates that Mercer-Huffman walked back to the residence moments later and said the Wegmillers wrecked their truck. The witness related Mercer-Huffman had a pistol in his hand and observed a bleeding wound on his arm. The complaint relates multiple persons were interviewed and these persons provided multiple area businesses visited by Mercer-Huffman on 9/29 and 9/30 and a review of video surveillance of these businesses confirm Mercer-Huffman was in the area when this incident occurred and confirmed he is a black male with a dreadlock style hair described by Edwin Wegmiller at the hospital. The complaint relates the dreadlocks in the videos are also consistent with the style of dreadlock recovered from Julie Wegmiller’s hand at her autopsy. Mercer-Huffman is charged with Criminal Homicide, Criminal Attempted Homicide, Aggravated Assault, Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Structure, and related firearms violations. Mercer-Huffman was committed to the Lawrence County Jail.

SIMPLE ASSAULT:
Robert Marshall, Jr., 36, and Jamie Gorgacz, 40, both of Wampum, are each charged with Simple Assault after an incident on October 21st. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 10:59 p.m., police were dispatched to a residence on Main Street, Wampum Borough, for a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival police conducted interviews of both parties whereas Gorgacz related that Marshall entered a bedroom and attacked her unprovoked and that Marshall was drunk. While speaking with her, police could smell the odor of alcohol on her breath and that she had bruising on her arm and neck. Police then interviewed Marshall who related that Gorgacz entered his room while he was sleeping and attacked her. Marshall had visible cuts on his face and scratches on his body. Marshall related that he does not know why Gorgacz attacked him and that both parties had been drinking and Gorgacz took medication the report relates. Both parties were placed under arrest and charged with Simple Assault and Harrassment.

DUI:
Timothy Myers, 41, of Ellwood City, is charged with DUI after an incident in June 2023. According to a criminal complaint, police were called to the Dollar General, West Lawrence Avenue, for a male slumped over in the driver’s seat of a vehicle left running. Police made contact with Myers who was evaluated and told officers he smoked crack cocaine an hour and half before he drove to the store. Police also located drug paraphernalia on Myers. Police administerd a field sobriety test for which Myers failed and he was placed under arrest for DUI and transported to ECPD.

FIREARM VIOLATIONS:
A resident of Beaver, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal firearm laws. The two-count Indictment named Eric Kalif Hubbard, age 41, formerly of Beaver, Pennsylvania, as the sole defendant. According to the Indictment, on May 23, 2023, and July 14, 2023, Hubbard possessed a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. Under federal law, possession of a firearm and ammunition is prohibited. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of fifteen (15) years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Beaver Falls Police Department, and New Brighton Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.