POLICE: Weekly Police Blotter

POSSESSION:
James Locke, 39, of Ellwood City, is charged with Possession of Paraphernalia after officers received a report on Locke regarding an active warrant occurring on August 18th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 3:00p.m., police arrived in reported area and upon search of the residence found that Locke had been hiding in a hole in the wall in the second floor of a residence on Fairview Avenue. Locke and another party were removed from the wall and were searched. Officers seized two syringes from Locke’s person, and both were filled with crystal meth. Locke and the second party were placed inside the cruisers and escorted to the Lawrence County Jail according to the complaint. Due to the circumstances of the incident, including multiple individuals hiding from police inside the residence, officers conducted a protective sweep of the residence the complaint relates. During the sweep officers observed in plain view number loaded syringes and glass pipes consistent with items used to ingest controlled substances throughout various areas of the residence.

BAD CHECKS:
Catherine Funkhouser, 51, of Beaver Falls, is charged with Bad Checks after a report occurring on August 6th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 1:00 p.m., officers responded to a report from the Ewing Notary regarding a check they had received on June 6th totaling $438.05 that was returned unpaid do to “Not Sufficient Funds”. The Notary had then sent a letter to Funkhhouser requesting payment, which they had never received according to the complaint. Attempts to contact Funkhouser have been unsuccessful.

TRESPASSING:
Perry DuBois, 19, of Ellwood City and Markus Deutsch, 27, of Austintown, Ohio, are each charged with Theft and Trespassing after a reported incident on July 6th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 7:34 a.m., police were informed by the complainant that DuBois and Deutsch had trespassed on the CEMEX property located on Ditko Rd, Wayne Township, and had taken an air-compressor from the garage. The compainant was unable to identify any of the five suspected tresspassors but took a picture of a Jeep vehicle and noted a silver pick up truck as well. After investigation, and two days later, police made contact with DuBois and Deutsch who both related that they had taken the air-compressor and had not purchased it, according to the complaint.

DISORDERLY CONDUCT:
Terry Kreiling, 63, of Ellwood City, is charged with Disorderly Conduct and Indecent Exposure after a report occurring on August 31st at approximately 9:45 a.m. Officers were advised by a homeowner on Franklin Avenue that Kreiling was urinating in his front lawn, exposing himself. Kreiling had been warned previously about this behavior and his neighbors will be pressing charges according to a criminal complaint.

DUI:
Valerie ODonnell, 60, of New Castle, is charged with a DUI after a traffic stop occurring on July 24th at approximately 11:54 p.m. Officers stopped ODonnell near Fifth street in Ellwood City, and had observed several indications that ODonnell was intoxicated. They also observed her passenger side headlight was inoperative. Police had ODonnell conduct serval Standard Field Sobriety Tests which she failed according to a criminal complaint.

DUI:
Troy Burnette, 24, of New Castle, is charged with a DUI after police responded to a report of Burnette yelling at Sheetz employees on August 17th. According to a criminal complaint, and at approximately 10:39 p.m., police were dispatched to Sheetz on US Highway 422 in Slippery Rock Township and when officers first made contact with Burnette he had refused to provide his information. They had observed Burnette to be extremely intoxicated and observed Burnette’s vehicle to have a cracked windshield, an open White Claw, and Yuengling containers on his passenger side floor. Police had also viewed the Sheetz surveillance footage showing Burnette arriving and exiting the vehicle. Burnette was placed under arrest for driving under the influence according to the complaint.

DUI:
Dalton Yaromey, 40, of West Middlesex, is charged with DUI and Careless Driving after a traffic stop occurring on June 27th at approximately 2:24 a.m. Police stopped Yaromey after observing him preform two distinct “burn outs”, squealing his tires to make smoke. These occurred once at the 600 block of Factory Avenue, and second at the intersection of Factory Avenue and Sixth Street. Officers conducted the traffic stop at the intersection of Spring Avenue and Sixth Street. When police made contact with Yaromey he provided a license, an expired registration, and no proof of insurance. The passenger of the vehicle explained that her ex-boyfriend was in the bar at the time, and that was the justification for the behavior while driving which Yaromey admitted was inappropriate. Police then observed Yaromey to be intoxicated and had him preform Standard Field Sobriety Tests for which he failed. Yaromey was transferred to a nearby hospital for a blood draw according to a criminal complaint.

HIDTA Operation “Two Birds” August 2026

HIDTA Operation “Two Birds”:
On 08/28/2026, the Lawrence County District Attorney’s Special Investigations Unit and HIDTA Group, the Drug Enforcement Administration Group 66, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Union Township Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation executed two search warrants. Through the course of an investigation, it was determined that 309 Bell Avenue and 906 Emery Street were being utilized to sell, manufacture, and store controlled substances. The first residence at 309 Bell Avenue was secured by the Pennsylvania State Police Special Emergency Response Team (SERT). Inside was the target of the investigation, Ryan Fitzpatrick. The second residence, 906 Emery Street, was secured by the HIDTA Group and upon entry several individuals were detained pending a search of the residence.
After a methodical search of the residences, investigators located the following evidence:

• Approximately 105 grams of suspected Crack Cocaine;
• $7,180 in U.S. currency;
• 1 loaded Stoeger 9mm pistol; and 1 digital weighing scale.

FITZPATRICK was found to have an arrest warrant out of the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office and was lodged in the Lawrence County Jail. He will also be charged with Persons Not to Possess Firearms, Possession With Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance, and Possession of Paraphernalia.

POSSESSION OF FIREARMS:
Jayvon Turner, 24, of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon and was sentenced to 88 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his conviction, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.

According to information presented to the Court, on August 16, 2025, members of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s Violence Prevention Unit encountered the defendant on Pittsburgh’s South Side carrying a loaded, stolen 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Turner had previously been convicted on a state robbery charge. Federal law prohibits possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.

United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Turner.

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.