Recent Stories

Police and Fire

July 21, 2017

FIRE VIDEO: ‘The House is a Total Loss’

The Ellwood City Fire Department responded “almost immediately” to a fire on the 100 block of Orchard Avenue Thursday evening. “We actually had a truck up the road for a separate call when the fire broke out. Some neighbors ran up to the truck and said 130 was on fire – so we responded almost immediately,” Ellwood City Fire Chief, Rick Meyers stated. Despite the fast action, due to the layout of the property it was difficult for the responding departments to get to the center of the fire – which they believe started in the kitchen/dining room area. The…

July 19, 2017

Erratic Driver Accused of Threatening to Shoot Local Family

Updated at 2:10p.m. 7/19 Erik Sobel is facing charges of disorderly conduct and reckless driving after an incident that occurred on the evening of July 12. According to the police report, officers observed Sobel driving at a high rate of speed and erratically through the town trying to get the officers attention. Multiple complaints came in about Sobel’s driving and that he was threatening the Pounds and Johnsons. Officers could hear the vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed through town and they observed him speeding on Lawrence Ave., as he pulled his emergency brake and slid into the…

July 12, 2017

Police Reports: Shots Fired This Morning on 13th Street

Shots Fired This Morning on 13th Street According to the police report, this morning around 3a.m. police were dispatched to the Pounds residence on 13th Street for a shots fired call. Dispatch gave a description of a white SUV with a loud muffler who shot at the compound. Three neighbors described the vehicle and said the vehicle was stopped in the street and a male was outside walking around when he fired three shots towards the residence, he then tried to get back into the car but the door would not open so he had to hang on to the…

July 11, 2017

America’s Night Out Against Crime

On Tuesday, August 1st, neighborhoods throughout Ellwood City are being invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the “34th Annual Night Out” (NNO) crime and drug prevention event. National Night Out, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and co-sponsored locally by the Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce, will involve over 16,500 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases around the world. In all, over 38.5 million people are expected to participate in ‘America’s Night Out Against Crime’. NNO 2017 corporate sponsors are Dietz & Watson, ADT,…

July 10, 2017

Ellwood City Man Facing Felony Charge for Injury-Causing Hit and Run

According to the criminal complaint, Michael Ray Magill Jr., 38, of Eidenmiller Lane, has been charged by state police as a result of causing serious bodily injury during a crash and fleeing the scene. On June 2, an officer was dispatched to the area near 2590 Chewton Wurtemburg Road for a report of a two vehicle crash, in addition the officer was advised that multiple subjects fled from the scene. Upon arrival the officer observed a disabled Ford Focus, belonging to George Richard Weller, with no driver or passengers in the vehicle. A prescription pill bottle belonging to Magill was…

June 26, 2017

Criminal Complaints: Ellwood City Man Facing Attempted Homicide Charge

Ellwood City Man Facing Attempted Homicide Charge According to the criminal complaint, on June 17, 2017 officers arrived to a residence on Portersville Road for a report of a domestic dispute. The victim advised that her fiancee, whom she lives with, Raemond Albert Wright, 34, of Ellwood City, had assaulted her during a verbal argument. She said that Wright had grabbed her and threw her around the kitchen then threw her down and started choking her to the point of losing consciousness. The victim said that while she was being choked the defendant told her multiple times he was going…

June 20, 2017

Police Find Crack Cocaine and Sleep Apnea Machine in Vehicle

Police Find Crack Cocaine and Sleep Apnea Machine in Vehicle According to the criminal complaint, on June 14, officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with an expired registration. Operator of the vehicle, Christopher Patrick Bruno, 61, of Ellwood City, did not hold a valid drivers license and was under driving suspension in Florida and Pennsylvania. Bruno also had an active warrant for his arrest through the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. Bruno was detained for the warrant, and he advised officers of his sleep apnea machine in his car that he would need for sleeping. Officers opened a bag…

June 19, 2017

Cigarette Causes Garage Fire Sunday Night

A car is destroyed following a garage fire that happened Sunday around 9:30p.m. at an Ellwood residence located on Keystone Way. According to the Ellwood City fire chief, the fire started after the homeowner threw a cigarette on the garage floor, possibly igniting gas residue on the ground. No one was injured.

June 19, 2017

Ellwood City Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Case

Following the case of the Ellwood City man who admitted to stalking Amish children and trying to lure them into an outhouse, he pleaded guilty last week to a separate incident of distributing sadistic child pornography on a peer-to-peer network. Lucas Klobetanz, 40, of Ellwood City, was federally investigated by the FBI for distributing child porn after his computer IP address was traced back to his Ellwood City address. In 2015 he was indicted on counts of distribution and possession of child porn. Klobetanz has been sentenced to serve more than 11 years in prison, followed by 20 years of supervised…

June 16, 2017

Police Report: 60 Year-Old Man Breaks Ellwood Business’s Front Door with Cane

A local 60-year-old man is expected to pay for damages sustained to a Lawrence Avenue business after he broke the glass with his cane Wednesday afternoon. According to the criminal complaint, an employee at the Ellwood City Ledger contacted police to report damages caused by an older gentleman. The employee stated she was sitting inside the Ledger building when the man came to the door and started knocking after business hours. The man eventually got frustrated and started pounding on the bottom of the door with his cane, breaking the glass. The employee followed the man around the building and…