Police and Fire

Aggravated Assault A New Brighton man was accused of aggravated assault following an incident in Ellwood City last week. Prior to this, Justin M Bryant, 27, was charged with criminal mischief for an incident occurring on Feb. 25. The victim advised police that Bryant was in her apartment destroying items. Investigating officers observed a smashed girls’ play house, a damaged sweeper, a damaged bookshelf and two holes in the wall. The victim reported Byrant hadn’t hurt her today but had done so in the past. Police confiscated a glass marijuana pipe belonging to Bryant. The defendant agreed to pay for…

K-9 Team Assists in Drug Bust The Ellwood City K-9 team assisted in the Lawrence County District Attorney’s Drug Task Force in an arrest on Pittsburgh Circle on Jan. 25.  According to a criminal complaint filed on Feb. 24, the K-9 team assisted in the arrest of Amanda Hasan and Tim Wilkes, who were wanted for heroin dealing. In addition, the K-9 team confiscated several items in the residence, including a baggie containing 7 grams of cocaine and about 50 white pills from Wilkes’ room. The K-9 team also discovered baggies of marijuana and marijuana paraphernalia belonging to Korrie Asif…

Methadone-Influenced Driver Causes Accident According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 10 at approximately 8:30 a.m., a vehicle traveling west on Lawrence Avenue failed to stop at a stop sign and hit a vehicle traveling south on Fourth Street. Investigating officers identified the driver as Luke Garrett Hogue, 29, of New Castle, who admitted to having recently left a methadone clinic. Hogue was charged with failing to stop at a stop sign and following a blood test, was charged with two counts of DUI. Retail Theft According to the criminal complaint, on Feb. 16 at approximately 12:21 a.m., officers responded…

Employee Steals Money Over Three Month Period A Beaver Falls man was accused of stealing $1,499.56 from B&B Express on 324 Lawrence Ave. According to the criminal complain, James Kosto, as an employee of B&B, would pretend to place money in the cash register during customer transactions but would actually place the money in his pocket. This occurred between Dec. 17, 2014 and March 8, 2015. On Oct. 29, 2015, Kosto admitted to stealing money to investigating officers. He was given until Feb. 1, 2016 to pay back the money he had stolen, which he failed to do. On Feb….

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…