POLICE: Weekly Police Blotter

THEFT:
Steven Tedrow, 34, of Ellwood City is charged with Theft after an incident occurring on April 4th at approximately 10:30p.m. A victim told police his credit card was stolen and used for the following purchases: Speedway April 4th, at 11:24p.m. $108.71 for a carton of cigarettes, April 4th at 11:28p.m. $104.31 for a carton of cigarettes, Sunoco Gas Station on April 4th at 11:51p.m. $106.95 declined purchase of a carton of cigarettes according to a criminal complaint.

POSSESSION:
Chad Smith, 51, of Ellwood City is charged with Possession after a reported incident on or about August 6th. Police, while on patrol near the Sheetz gas station, noticed a white truck with a missing passenger side mirror, and proceeded to trail the vehicle and later conducted a traffic stop on Factory Avenue near 11th Street. Police contacted Smith after pulling him over and informed him that both the registration and inspection of the vehicle were expired. Police then searched Smith and found narcotics and paraphernalia. Smith was taken to the station, read his Miranda Rights, and released according to a criminal complaint.

DUI:
Michael Battaglia, 39, of Ellwood City is charged with DUI after an incident occurring on August 5th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 12:34 a.m., police conducted a traffic stop on Battaglia near the intersection of Line Avenue and North Street and observed several indications that he was under the influence. When Police asked Battaglia to take a Standard Field Sobriety Test, he declined, resisted with officers, and was arrested. Officers took him to the Ellwood City Police Department, requested that he sign a form that requires him to get a blood test from a nearby hospital, which he also refused and was released to his parents according to the complaint.

DUI:
Nicholas Caccia, 38, of New Castle is charged with Possession after an incident occurring on March 19th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 11:05 a.m, police conducted a traffic stop after observing Caccia behaving strangely in his vehicle. After contacting Caccia, police observed a container laying on Caccia’s lap, which he hid in his pocket when police looked away. Police searched Caccia, found the container and found Narcotics inside. Caccia was then subjected to Standard Field Sobriety Tests meant for drugs, for which he failed. Caccia was arrested and taken to the station where he refused the blood tests according to a criminal complaint.

DUI:
Logan Eversole, 20, of Ellwood City is charged with DUI after an incident occurring on June 1st. According to a criminal complaint, police conducted a traffic stop on Eversole who tried attempted to evade police numerous times, the latest time near the intersection of Beaver Avenue and 8th Street but officers cut him off. After contacting Eversole, police observed Eversole to be behaving oddly. Police also noticed marijuana in plain view along side a straw used for consuming narcotics. Eversole was then subjected to a standard field sobriety test for which he failed. He was taken to ECPD and then transported to a nearby hospital for blood work., according to the complaint.

ATTEMPTING TO TRANSMIT OBSCENE MATERIAL TO A MINOR:
Albert Maximillian Jeremias, 79, of Wexford,  has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of attempting to transmit obscene material to a minor and attempting to induce a minor to engage in sexual activity, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced on Thursday.

According to the Indictment, on multiple occasions between January 2023 and May 2023, Jeremias made contact via internet chats with undercover agents in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Coral Gables, Florida, areas who he believed were young girls between the ages of 12 and 15. During those conversations, Jeremias sent pornographic photographs and livestream images of himself to the undercover agents and requested that the agents send sexually explicit pictures of themselves to him, even sending one of them a $50 gift card as enticement.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $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. An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.