POLICE: Weekly Police Blotter

THEFT:
On January 17th, at approximately 7:32 a.m., police investigated the report of theft in Perry Township. Police discovered that one or more unidentified people broke into unlocked vehicles, according to criminal complaint. No one has yet to be charged.

HARASS PHYSICAL CONTACT:
On February 5th, at approximately 2:48p.m., police responded to a report of a disturbance on McCartney Hollow Rd. Both parties, male, one 36, and the other 60 years old, both of Fombell, were engaged in a verbal argument that escalated into a brief physical altercation before both parties separated on their own accord. Charges will be filed, according to a criminal complaint.

SHOPLIFTING:
On February 2nd, at approximately 3:26 p.m., police responded to Giant Eagle in Franklin Township for a report of theft, according to a criminal complaint. The manager of the store told police that the arrestee placed items that were not purchased into his jacket pocket and exited the store. The male was identified and admitted to taking the items, worth $27.22, without paying.

SIMPLE ASSULT:
Joshua Brannon, 32, of Enon Valley, was arrested and charged with Simple Assault after an incident on February 6th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 8:43PM, police were called to respond to an inactive domestic altercation located in Enon Valley Borough. Police observed the female victim to be injured when they arrived. The victim, after police evaluated the injuries, was sent to a nearby hospital.

TRAFFIC STOP:
Louis Tarabrella, 51, of Ellwood City, was arrested after a traffic stop on February 8th at approximately 12:38AM. Police initiated a traffic stop near Lawrence Avenue due to a broken tail light cover. After Police ran the plates, registration and license of the car, it was found that Tarabrella was driving with a suspended license after a former DUI. Tarabrella is charged with Habitual Offenders, Driving While Operating Privilege is Suspended or Revoked, General Lighting Requirements, and Driving on Roadways Lane for Traffic according to criminal complaint.

DUI:
Bradley Doresey, 45, of Koppel, was arrested for a DUI  after an accident on January 12th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 1:50AM, police responded to a vehicle into a guardrail. Police observed as such and conducted a traffic stop the complaint relates. Police then also observed signs of impairment and asked him to preform a field sobriety test for which Doresey failed. Doresey was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence. He was then transferred to a nearby hospital.

DUI:
Rachel Santypal, 46, of Ellwood City was arrested for a DUI after a accident on January 20th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 10:51PM, police responded to a crash on Joffre St, Wayne Township. Police conducted a traffic stop and made contact with Santypal and noticed she had bloodshot and watery eyes. Santypal was assisted to the ambulance and later transported to a nearby hospital.

DUI:
Logan Slosser, 20, of New Castle was arrested on for a DUI after a traffic stop on November 12th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 3:10PM, police responded to a report of a male driving erratically near Bridge Street in Ellwood City. Police contacted the driver and asked him to step out of the vehicle to which he refused. Slosser was then taken into custody for suspicion of DUI. Slosser then admitted to smoking illegal substances, and allowed Police to search the vehicle the complaint relates. Police escorted Slosser to the station and later to a nearby hospital for a blood toxology report. Charges have been filed.

DRUG TRAFFICKING:
A resident of New Castle was sentenced to 66 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, and for distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school, while on federal supervised release for a prior cocaine base trafficking conviction. United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on Forrest Gilmore, 28, also ordering Gilmore to serve six years of supervised release following his prison sentence. In pleading guilty in this case, Gilmore admitted responsibility for distributing 450 grams of cocaine and 25 grams of cocaine base/crack between June 2020 and June 2021 in the New Castle area. In a prior case, he previously was convicted and sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for trafficking cocaine base in the New Castle area. He was released from his prior federal prison sentence to supervised release in April 2020 and, within two months, started trafficking cocaine and cocaine base again in New Castle in violation of his release conditions and the United States Code. This prosecution is a result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles high-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten communities throughout the United States. OCDETF uses a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP WITH A MINOR:
Nicholas Rose, 22, of Brackenridge, PA, is charged with multiple felonies including Sexual Assault and Corruption of Minors after it was found he had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl at an overnight camp in Wayne Township. Rose, a former camp counselor at Camp Allegheny, was 20 years old at the time of the alleged assaults, has turned himself in according to reports. The teenage girl also worked at the camp during the time of the relationship. A criminal complaint relates that camp staff members allegedly saw them kissing, that the sexual relationship allegedly lasted for over a month, and that Rose knew the victim’s age during the relations. Both of them were fired from the camp according to the complaint and Rose later admitted to having sex with the teenage girl. Rose, who is now out on bond, has a preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 20th.

photo source: Lawrence County District Attorney Facebook.com

HIDTA OPERATION 4 & 5
On February 1, 2024, the Lawrence County District Attorney’s HIDTA Drug Task Force, with the assistance of Lawrence County CIRT, FBI, DEA, HSI, NCPD Narcotics, and ECPD executed two sealed search warrants in the City of New Castle. The first warrant was served at 900 Sankey Street, Apartment A, and the second at 522 East Division Street. The target of the Sankey Street investigation, Derno McCary, was located inside the residence and a search of his apartment resulted in the seizure of 4.41 grams of suspected crack cocaine separated into three plastic baggies, 6 grams of suspected heroin/fentanyl separated into three plastic baggies, two digital weigh scales, $135 in U.S. currency, 1 loaded Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun, 1 extended capacity Glock magazine, and 3 cellular phones. Mr. McCary was taken into custody and charged with two counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver and Drug Paraphernalia. He was lodged in the Lawrence County Jail pending trial. The target of the Division Street investigation, “Otto” Christopher Lane, was present when drug task force members arrived at his residence and attempted to flee through the back yard. During his escape attempt he threw a bag into the neighbor’s yard immediately before being taken into custody. The bag was recovered and discovered inside was 104.4 grams of suspected crack cocaine. Search of his residence yielded another 6.7 grams of suspected fentanyl and 2 digital weigh scales. Mr. Lane was charged with two counts of Possession with Intent to Deliver, Drug Paraphernalia, and Tampering with Evidence. He was lodged in the Lawrence County Jail pending trial.

UNLAWFUL KILLING:
A federal judge has found two Western Pennsylvania men guilty of three counts related to the unlawful killing of migratory birds.

Robert Yost, 52, of New Galilee, Pennsylvania, and Jacob Reese, 27, of Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, were tried before United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy in Pittsburgh in late-October 2022.

The evidence presented at trial established that, in June 2020, Yost—as operator of Yost Farms in Beaver County, Pennsylvania—and one of his employees, Reese, conspired to kill migratory birds present on leased farmland operated by Yost Farms using carbofuran, a registered restricted-use pesticide. The Environmental Protection Agency concluded no later than 2009 that the dietary, worker, and ecological risks for all uses of carbofuran were unacceptable and that all products containing carbofuran generally caused unreasonable adverse effects on humans and the environment. As part of the conspiracy, Yost directed Reese to spread whole kernel corn coated in carbofuran in and around a leased field used for soybean cultivation to which children had access. The tainted corn attracted protected migratory birds that were killed within a short distance of where they ingested the corn. Yost and Reese thereafter took steps to conceal their efforts to poison and kill the migratory birds, including destroying the feed bag containing the carbofuran-laced whole corn kernel. When confronted by officials from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Reese and Yost also lied about their use of poisoned corn to kill the birds. In total, Yost and Reese were responsible for killing approximately 17 Canada geese, 10 red-winged blackbirds, and one mallard duck.

“Robert Yost and Jacob Reese used corn laced with an extremely toxic, banned pesticide to poison over two dozen migratory birds,” said U.S. Attorney Olshan. “The defendants’ indiscriminate criminal conduct also put the safety and health of the farm’s neighbors—including small children and a man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease—at risk. Protecting wildlife and the people who live in our communities from the illicit use of dangerous chemicals is, and will remain, a priority of this office and our dedicated partners in state and local law enforcement.”

“The deliberate application of a highly toxic pesticide, whose use is restricted due to the unreasonable risks to public health and the environment, threatened the health and well-being of the community and the children who played in the poison area, and resulted in the intentional killing of numerous migratory birds,” said Allison Landsman, EPA-CID Acting Special Agent in Charge. “The conviction of Robert Yost and Jacob Reese demonstrates EPA’s resolve to vigorously, with its federal and state partners, investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who criminally apply toxic pesticides and target species protected under federal law.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to holding accountable those who knowingly violate wildlife laws, which in this case resulted in the death of migratory birds and the potential serious harm of children and adults who live in the area,” said the Service’s Special Agent in Charge for the Northeast Region Ryan Noel. “We are grateful for strong relationships with partners, including the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, Pennsylvania Game Commission, and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, that allow us to be successful in these investigations and ensure future generations can enjoy wildlife resources.”

Judge Hardy scheduled both sentencing hearings for May 29, 2024, with the defendants each facing a total maximum term of imprisonment of 13 months and a total fine of $31,000. The actual sentence imposed would be based upon a consideration of statutory sentencing factors and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Office of Law Enforcement, Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division, and Pennsylvania Game Commission conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Yost and Reese, with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.