Police Reports
These items have been collected from various police departments.
Butler Police
1:18 a.m. July 29 — Victor J. Weltner, 20, of Butler allegedly took more than $2,000 worth of property in a break-in at a neighbor’s apartment in the 400 block of North Sixth Avenue.
The victim Austin Young, reported stolen a 55-inch flat-screen television, 17 Xbox video games, a pair of Nike Air Jordan sneakers, $100 in currency and other items. He suspected Weltner of the crime, according to court documents.
He told police that he went to Weltner’s home. Weltner was not there but his brother was, and let Young inside. Young said that he found his belongings there.
Three days later, Weltner appeared at the police station and admitted taking all of the items except the currency, documents said.
He is charged with burglary, theft and receiving stolen property, all felonies.
6:54 p.m. Thursday — Jacob A. Martinez, 35, of Lyndora was allegedly using a baby stroller to shoplift a wireless charging device at the Family Dollar store at Pullman Square. He was caught allegedly putting the item, worth $11, in the bottom of the stroller, which held a 2-year-old child.
Police said while investigating the incident, they learned that Martinez a short time earlier allegedly took five memory cards, valued at a combined $125, from the Citywide Wireless store at the same shopping plaza.
For the first incident, police charged Martinez with misdemeanor retail theft. For the second one, they charged him with a felony count of retail theft, since he has one prior shoplifting conviction.
Monday — Police charged Jessica M. Masdea, 25, of Lyndora with drunken driving after officers found her damaged car in the middle of the Roosevelt Boulevard with its hazard lights on about 2:20 a.m. July 15.
Police believe the car had been damaged after hitting two other vehicles parked on the side of the road. They also suspected she was intoxicated.
Masdea was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test, documents said, which showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.163 percent. A level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated under state law.
In addition to driving under the influence, Masdea is charged with careless driving.
Butler Twp Police
4:44 p.m. July 28 — Two Armstrong County men allegedly teamed up to shoplift a 60-inch Samsung television, valued at $898, from the Butler Commons’ Walmart.
Gregory B. Wilder Jr., 25, of Ford City and Dustin D. Mechling, 21, of Kittanning are charged with retail theft and conspiracy to commit retail theft.
Grove City Police
8 a.m. Tuesday — Kimberly A. McConnell, 29, of New Castle was arrested on a bench warrant following a traffic stop at East Main Street and Madison Avenue. She also was cited for failure to pay traffic citations and for driving with a suspended license.
The warrant was issued after McConnell failed to pay for past traffic citations, police said.
Butler County Drug Task Force
8:55 p.m. Friday — Officers found suspected heroin and crack cocaine during a search of a home in the 200 block of American Avenue. The resident, Gregory A. Gilliland, 43, is charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
The charges followed a joint investigation by the task force and Butler police. Authorities said the investigation was done after they received complaints of suspected drug activity at the home.
State Police, Butler
4:16 p.m. Monday — An unknown driver did not stop after two pickup trucks nearly collided on Interstate 79 just north of Pfeifer Road in Muddy Creek Township. The other driver, Valerie G. Shade, 42, of New Castle, lost control of her pickup after swerving to avoid the collision and struck a guardrail.
State Police, Franklin
6:49 a.m. Monday — A motorcyclist was hurt when he crashed into a deer in Emlenton. Christopher M. Stevens, 23, of Knox, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to UPMC Northwest in Seneca with minor injuries.
Stevens was northbound on Main Street when the deer ran onto the road just west of Route 38. His Kawasaki Ninja struck the deer, causing the cycle to fall.
