Police and Fire

Man Steals $8,750 worth of rings from ex-girlfriend According to the criminal complaint, Randell Weaver, 53, of Boardman, Ohio was accused of stealing rings from his ex-girlfriend. Weaver lived with the victim in Mercer County in 2014. During this time, the victim had moved several of her belongings to the residence of Weaver’s mother in Little Beaver Township, including eighteen of her rings which are valued at $8,750. The rings consisted of diamond/gold, yellow gold, sapphire, emerald, ruby, tanzanite and citrine. Following their breakup in early 2015, Weaver’s ex-girlfriend discovered that the rings were missing from the residence of the…

Endangering Welfare of Children An Ellwood City man was charged with endangering the welfare of a child following an incident on Jan. 25. According to to the criminal complaint, Bronson Lane, 26, of Wampum Ave., was walking with his one-year old daughter on Madison Ave while the child was barefoot and insufficiently dressed. The temperature was around 35 degrees. Prior to this, Lane had assaulted his girlfriend while she was holding his daughter. After forcing the victim to hand over the child, he proceeded outside. He was charged with simple assault, harassment and endangering the welfare of children. Man Shoplifts…

The Ranch, a Wayne Township restaurant and bar, was destroyed in a fire yesterday afternoon. The fire originated in the kitchen as a grease fire shortly after 1:30 p.m. and spread to the entire building. Nine fire departments rushed to the scene as state police directed traffic. By 2:30, the fire had gone through the building’s roof. Firefighters from Wayne Township were still at the scene at 6:30 p.m. Fire companies that responded include Wayne Township, Ellwood City, Wurtemburg-Perry Township, Chewton, Frisco, Portersville, Shenango, Slippery Rock Township and North Sewickley Township. The Ranch, on 4628 Ellwood Road (Route 65), was…

Stealing Personal Checks According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 27 of 2014, Drew Hall, 26, of Ellwood City had reportedly removed several checks from the residence of the victim, who is the grandmother of the accused. Hall then cashed the checks to multiple Woodforest Bank locations, which he signed in the victim’s signature without permission, totaling to $460. Video surveillance from a Woodforest Bank confirmed that Hall had cashed a check. On Jan. 14, 2016, he was charged with forgery, theft by deception and theft by unlawful taking. Attempting to Return Stolen Keg According to the criminal complaint, on…

The Lawrence County District Attorney Drug Task Force arrested nine people Monday and Tuesday in a countywide drug sweep, including three in the Ellwood City area. Heroine Dealing The Drug Task Force arrested two people for heroin dealing following an incident on Oct. 15. According to the criminal complaint filed on Jan. 22, Amanda Hasan, 25, of Ellwood City, and Timothy Wilkes, 27, of New Castle, were caught after attempting to sell heroin to an informant in a pre-planned operation. On Oct. 15 at approximately 10:40 p.m., the informant met with Wilkes on 13th Street and purchased .4 grams of…

One woman and two men were charged with simple assault against a woman and a juvenile male was charged with theft. Darcy Young, 29, from Rochester but currently residing in Ellwood City; Adam Pounds, of Ellwood City; Andrew Mercado, 28, from Ellwood City but currently residing in Koppel; and a male juvenile all received various charges for an incident occurring on Dec. 27. According to the criminal complaint filed on Jan. 4, the victim was at a baptism party on 13th Street when she walked in on Young and and another woman who were snorting cocaine. Young was agitated at…

An Ellwood City man was charged Monday with several counts of sexual offenses against a minor. According to the criminal complaint, David Lollo, 34, of Ellwood City, conducted sexual behavior around a 13-year old girl during times she was at his residence. The complaint specifies that Lollo exposed himself numerous times in front of the girl. He also attempted to be in a hot tub while he was naked with the girl, as well as laid naked beside the girl on a couch. In one instance, Lollo attempted to forcefully remove the girl’s clothes. The investigation, conducted by Ellwood City…

[Update: McCall was arraigned on a $100,000 bond and placed in the Lawrence County Jail.] Local and state police were involved in a stand off at an Ellwood City home yesterday night. The standoff lasted about seven hours, although no one was hurt. According to the police report, Ellwood City officers received a call that a man was threatening to shoot himself and would shoot anyone that intervened. Officers arrived at the residence on Patricia Drive around 5:45 p.m. and made contact with the defendant, Jeffrey McCall, age 39. According to the criminal complaint, officers had attempted to do a…