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Police and Fire

April 4, 2018

VIDEO: Overnight Car Crash In North Sewickley Twp, 1 Injured

A motorist was taken to the hospital after crashing into a Beaver County home early Wednesday morning. According to a published report, the crash happened near the intersection of Mercer and Brighton roads in North Sewickley Township, across from Sumner’s Car Wash, around 2:50 a.m. The vehicle went off the road, through some bushes and struck the chimney, which scattered bricks and debris throughout the yard.   Car crashes into home, bricks fly everywhere. Take a look as cleanup begins @ home here south of Ellwood City across from Sumner’s Car Wash @KDKA pic.twitter.com/Chphfiisd9 — Meghan Schiller (@MeghanKDKA) April 4,…

March 19, 2018

Police: New Castle Man Charged with Viewing Child Pornography

According to the criminal complaint filed on March 6, Steven Robert Nerone, 35, of 1704 E Washington St, New Castle, was charged with dissemination of child pornography. In February 2017, state police investigated a report from Microsoft that a Skype user had uploaded a known picture of child pornography. State police requested a subpoena to be issued to Comcast for an IP address identification. The Comcast report identified the IP user as Nerone. In October, police obtained a search warrant and interviewed the suspect. In December, police seized Nerone’s hard drive and thumb drive and located over 450 pictures and…

March 2, 2018

Residents Warned Of Another Phone Scam

According to information made available by the Ellwood City Police Department on Thursday, residents in the Ellwood City area have been receiving calls from an individuals with foreign accent, claiming they’re MICROSOFT Security and the resident(s) computer is malfunctioning. The caller goes on to make reference to Windows, Excel and other Microsoft products. The call back number provided is (877) 930-8384. This one of the many scams attempted by telephone, police encourage residents to hang up on the caller, and always remember Microsoft will not contact you concerning your computer. Residents should only deal with reputable Computer Repair companies. For…

February 20, 2018

Police: Man Tased While Attempting to Flee Police

Man Tased While Attempting to Flee Police According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 10 at approximately 3:00 a.m., an officer observed a jeep traveling at a high rate of speed in the area of Crescent Avenue and Seventh Street. The investigating officer activated the patrol car’s emergency signals, but the jeep didn’t pull over. Police pursued the jeep to the 300 block of Wayne Avenue where the suspect parked. The suspect, a white male, attempted to run away, and the officer pursued on foot. The officer advised the suspect to stop or he would be tased, but the man…

February 19, 2018

Another Scam Targeting Elderly Reported

According to information made available this morning by the Borough of Ellwood City, Mayor Court wanted to once again warn residents that another scam is circulating through the Ellwood City area, targeting the elderly for money claiming that a relative is in trouble with the law. If you get a phone call like this or if you have elderly people living in the area, please warn them of this scam and advise them to call the Police. NEVER give out their financial information to anyone unless they are certain of the caller. Be safe and protect our elderly from these scammers!

February 14, 2018

Police Standoff At Home Off Mercer Road [Updated Feb. 16]

  SWAT officers surrounded a home off Mercer Road in Franklin Township Wednesday morning in a standoff that lasted three hours. According to reports, police and SWAT officers were on site at the Franklin Township residence where a male was inside the home with a gun before the standoff eventually led him into police custody. As a result of the police presence and locale, Riverside School District issued a lockdown with parents and guardians receiving automated phone calls. Investigators haven’t said why they were originally called to the home or why the standoff ensued.  No one was injured.  More information…

February 14, 2018

POLICE: Union Township Man Leads Police On Chase

According to reports, Ellwood City Police have charged Gary Joseph Rakoci Jr., 26, of Union Township, after he allegedly fled from police in his vehicle and on foot, around 3:00am Saturday while he allegedly was driving drunk. According to a criminal complaint filed by Ellwood City police, an officer driving an unmarked patrol car was southbound on Seventh Street when he saw a gray Jeep go through an intersection at Crescent Avenue at high speed, and it turned north, failing to stop at a stop sign. After observing a gray Jeep go through an intersection at Crescent Avenue at high speed,…

January 24, 2018

Beaver Falls Man Facing Rape Charges Walks Free After Posting Bond

Richard Holewski Jr., 48, of 3913 College Ave., Beaver Falls, who appears to be a family man on social media, is facing charges of rape, statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault of a child, indecent assault and corruption of minors, after police said he sexually assaulted a child over the course of about 13 years. According to reports, Holewski’s assault streak started when the girl was only 7 years old, lasting into the victim’s adult years and escalating when she was in her teens. Holewski was able to rape the victim in her North Sewickley home while her…

January 23, 2018

BREAKING: Fire Alarm Issue, Lincoln Students Sent Home Early

Lincoln High students are being sent home early today due to a fire alarm issue, the official statement is below: School Superintendent Joe Mancini stated: “During a routine monthly fire drill at Lincoln, it was discovered that half of the alarms, pulls and detectors were not functioning properly.  The alarm company was notified and sent a supervisor.  During his research, a short was discovered in the system for a certain area of the building.  Locating the short in the system could take some time without technicians.  It was decided at this time to close Lincoln for safety reasons.  At 11:30,…

January 22, 2018

Criminal Complaints: Domestic Disputes

Several Ellwood residents are facing charges after separate domestic dispute cases were reported this month: Steven Glen Ramsey, 32, of Ellwood City, is facing charges of prohibited acts, terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment after he had gotten into a physical argument with his girlfriend. The argument escalated when Ramsey pulled out a knife and held it to her throat, telling her that she needed to tell the truth or one of them was going to die. The victim had a visible mark from the altercation on her face. Christopher David Bell-Kline, 22, of Ellwood City, is facing charges of…