POLICE REPORTS
These items have been collected from various police departments.
Wednesday — Police charged Francis B. Coy, 53, no known address, with stealing the license plate off a Butler man's vehicle and putting it on his car.Coy, who did not have a valid license plate of his own, allegedly took the other plate from the vehicle that was in a parking lot in the 300 block of South Monroe Street, according to court documents.The defendant, with the stolen plate on his car, racked up seven parking tickets between March 3 and 7, according to court documents. The plate's legal owner later received numerous citations in the mail stemming from those tickets, that had gone unpaid.Police charged Coy with theft, fraudulent use of a license plate, unauthorized transfer or use of vehicle registration, driving an unregistered vehicle and seven parking tickets.Police noted in charging documents that Coy has two prior convictions for using license plates not issued to his vehicle.
Thursday — Two borough boys, ages 13 and 14, were cited for retail theft after they were caught April 3 allegedly shoplifting energy drinks at the Country Fair store on West Main Street.
6:18 a.m. Thursday — Patrick D. Donathan, 39, and a 15-year-old boy, who police did not identify, were both arrested following a fight at Donathan's home in the 1200 block of Chicora Road in Donegal Township.Both suspects, who suffered minor injuries in the altercation, are charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.8:50 p.m. Wednesday — Joshua Lee Stitt, 32, of Chicora was arrested after allegedly assaulting a woman on Trimbur Road in Donegal Township. Police did not immediately identify the woman.Stitt was arraigned on charges of simple assault and harassment, and placed in the Butler County Prison on $5,000 bail.12:24 a.m. Wednesday — Walker A. Hamilton, 21, of St. Marys, Elk County and Jena M. Denobile, 21, of Slippery Rock were both arrested after getting into a fight at an apartment on South Rock Drive in Slippery Rock Township.Both suspects are charged with simple assault and harassment. Hamilton, who drove away after the altercation, also is charged with driving under the influence.The defendants were arraigned on charges and placed in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $1,000 bail.10:56 p.m. Monday — Fred P. Schneck, 63, of Bethlehem, Northampton County, was arrested for driving under the influence on Route 422 at the Lyndora exit in Butler Township. Schneck refused to submit to a breath test after failing field sobriety tests, according to court documents.He is charged with DUI, a lane violation and careless driving.Monday — Police charged Mitchel P. Kiser, 23, of Butler with drugged driving stemming from a traffic stop at 8:15 p.m. March 25 on New Castle Street in Butler Township. He was stopped after troopers on patrol spotted his truck pulling a tow dolly without its rear taillights on, court documents said.Police said when they got to the truck they smelled a “strong odor” of marijuana coming form the vehicle. Kiser, who appeared under the influence, admitted he had smoked a marijuana cigarette, documents said.A search of the truck turned up a plastic bill bottle containing suspected marijuana.A blood test later showed Kiser had marijuana in his system, police said.In addition to DUI, the defendant is charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana, careless driving and a lighting violation.Monday — Jarred P. Brown, 26, of Lyndora was charged with drunken driving in connection with a traffic stop about 3 a.m. May 3 at Division and Lehigh streets in Butler Township.A breath test showed later Brown's blood-alcohol level at 0.171 percent, more than twice the state's 0.08 percent legal limit. He is charged with DUI, driving an unregistered vehicle and careless driving.Tuesday — Three Butler County residents were arrested on charges they broke into a Mars home last month.Charged in the crime are Keith T. Hohman, 21, of Penn Township, Daniel A. Wikert, 21, of Mars, and Sara A. Yost, 21, of Clinton Township.The alleged victim, Cody J. Rape, told police that when he returned home about 11 p.m. April 29, he found the suspects in his apartment. The trio got into a pickup truck and drove away.Rape got into a vehicle and chased after the truck, according to court documents. He apparently lost them and called authorities He identified the suspects for police.Nothing was reported taken from the apartment, however, a television screen was broken.Hohman, Wikert and Yost are all charged with burglary, conspiracy, trespass and criminal mischief. All three are free on their own recognizance.
5:50 p.m. Wednesday — Cars driven by Patricia A. Ganoe, 58, of Rimersburg and Maria C. Gatesman, 46, of Lucinda collided on Fifth Avenue at the Comet Food Warehouse parking lot in Clarion Township. Police said Ganoe was cited for illegally entering or crossing a road.
2:14 p.m. Wednesday — One person was hurt in a rear-end collision in Sandy Lake Township. The crash happened when Shirley A. Bennefield, 55, of Sandy Lake failed to stop her sport utility vehicle and struck the back of a car on Route 62 just south of Walnut Street.The other driver, John W. Shaffer, 49, of Stoneboro, suffered minor injuries. Both drivers were wearing seat belts. Police said Bennefield was cited for careless driving.11:20 p.m. Monday — Michael P. Tucker, 35, of Franklin, Venango County, was hurt when he lost control of his SUV, rolled over and hit an embankment in Jackson Center-Polk Road in Worth Township, Mercer County. The vehicle ended on its roof.Police said Tucker, who suffered minor injuries, was cited for driving at an unsafe speed.12:32 p.m. Saturday — Cars driven by Gary D. Bland of Meadville, Crawford County, and Tamela J. Knauff, 48, of Mercer collided at Route 258 and Garrett Drive in Springfield Township. Police said Bland was cited for a stop sign violation.
