POLICE: Weekly Police Blotter

SIMPLE ASSAULT:
Michael Fabich, 57, of Wampum is charged with Simple Assault after an incident occurring on January 2nd. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 8:56 p.m., police were dispatched to the Fabich residence on Eliza Street and when they made contact with the victim, Fabich’s wife, she explained that Michael Fabich was woken up by his father and Michael got angry taking it out on her. Police asked Mrs. Fabich if she would like to pursue any actions, or put a PFA on Fabich, but she denied any action the report relates.

SIMPLE ASSAULT:
Jarid Smith, 42, of Ellwood City, is charged with Simple Assault after an incident occurring on December 29th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 3:42 a.m., police were dispatched to a domestic disturbance at a residence on North Street and when they arrived and spoke to the victim she told officers that Smith arrived at her residence at 4:00 p.m. on the 28th and then said that Smith began drinking. She related that they had gotten into an argument to which Smith grabbed her by the neck and took her keys and left according to the complaint.

AGGRIVATED ASSAULT:
Bryan Johnson, 55, of Ellwood City, is charged with Aggravated Assault after an incident on January 1st. According to a criminal complaint, police received a call from a female at a residence on Wampum Avenue stating that her husband, Johnson, was trashing the house and causing a disturbance. Once on scene, Police observed Johnson outside acting erratic and yelling at police to leave which turned into a physical dispute. Johnson was then told to stop resisting and tased when he refused the report relates. The victim told police Johnson had choked her and trashed the house. Johnson was arrested and taken to ECPD according to the complaint.

LOITERING/PROWLING:
Charles Kriegisch, 35, of Ellwood City, is charged with Loitering after a disturbance beginning on January 4 into January 5th at around the times of 1:00-2:00 a.m. According to a criminal complaint, police received a call from a female in regards to a strange man walking through her yard and being very close to her house. She explained that this has happened two nights in a row the report relates. On January 7th, the female called police again to tell them that Kriegisch was back. Police on patrol saw Kriegisch, who is believed to be currently homeless, and explained that he will be charged with loitering according to the complaint.

DUI:
Darin Hoak, 61, of Ellwood City, is charged with DUI after traffic stop occurring on November 27th at approximately 12:55p.m. According to a criminal complaint, police stopped Hoak on Line Avenue and observed marijuana in the vehicle and Hoak with a suspended license. Police had Hoak transported to a nearby hospital for bloodwork according to a criminal complaint.

HIDTA OPERATION HALL PASS:
On January 10th, 2025, members of the Lawrence County District Attorney’s HIDTA Drug Task Force with the assistance of the Ellwood City Police Department, New Castle City Police Department and Union Township Police Department executed a sealed search warrant at 1413 West Washington Street, New Castle, Pennsylvania.
After making entry, the target of the investigation, Andre Hall, was detained. Once the residence and its occupant were secured, the residence was photographed and searched. The following evidence was located and seized:

133 grams of suspected cocaine in a vacuum sealed bag
13.2 grams of suspected crack cocaine, packaged for sale
35.8 total grams of suspected marijuana;
140 total Gabapentin capsules, packaged for sale;
$696.00 US currency;
Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun;
Ruger 9mm handgun;
Magnum Research .380cal handgun;
Multiple boxes of ammunition;
Digital weigh scale, containing suspected cocaine residue;
Two cellular phones;
Two (2) Pennsylvania Skill Gaming Machines, of which contained a total of $641.00; and $138.00 US currency from cash register.\

The vehicle Hall was known to operate was also towed from the property, as NCPD K9 Frankie alerted to the presence of narcotics upon an exterior sniff of the vehicle. A search warrant for the vehicle was applied for and granted. As a result of the search warrant for Hall’s vehicle, the following evidence was seized:

Springfield XDS .45cal handgun;
Two prescription bottles containing a total of 150 suspected Diazapam tablets;
Plastic baggie containing 179 suspected Oxycodone tablets;
Plastic baggie containing 2.2 grams of suspected cocaine;
Four (4) Visa Debit CashApp Cards; and One pound of suspected marijuana.

After completion of the search warrant at 1413 West Washington Street, information obtained through this investigation led the Lawrence County District Attorney’s HIDTA Drug Task Force to a secondary residence located within Union Township that Hall was believed to use to stash additional narcotics. Upon search Detectives located further evidence of drug trafficking, to include a digital weigh scale with suspected cocaine residue and a zip lock bag containing 166.0 grams of suspected cocaine. The target of the investigation, Andre Hall, was lodged in the Lawrence County Jail on $100,000 bond after being charged with numerous offenses of the Pennsylvania Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act.

DRUG TRAFFICKING:
Roberto Muniz Sanchez, 46, of Rochester, was sentenced in federal court on January 8, 2025, to 15 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine.

According to information presented to the Court, Sanchez was a member of an organized drug trafficking group that obtained kilogram quantities of cocaine via United States Postal Service parcel from Puerto Rico and then sold them in western Pennsylvania and elsewhere as part of an ongoing drug trafficking conspiracy. From approximately October 2023 to March 2024, Sanchez knowingly conspired with the leaders of the drug trafficking organization to possess with intent to distribute and distribute cocaine in and around Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, with Sanchez having purchased quantities of cocaine on several different dates during that period for both distribution to others and personal use.

Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation leading to Sanchez’s conviction in this case in close collaboration with the Lawrence County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Castle City Police Department, Ellwood City Police Department, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, United States Department of Agriculture, Union Township Police Department, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and Pennsylvania State Police.

This prosecution was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Lawrence County is one of six western Pennsylvania counties officially designated as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. The county received its HIDTA designation in July 2022, allowing it to receive dedicated federal resources to coordinate federal, state, and local governments in fighting drug trafficking and abuse.