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POLICE REPORTS

These items have been collected from various police departments.

3:54 a.m. Sunday — A burglar alarm sent police to the Papa John's pizza shop on West Cunningham Street. Officers found pry marks on the door on the west side of the building. The unknown would-be burglar, however, failed to get into the business.11:54 p.m. Saturday — Joshua Z. Jay, 32, of Butler was injured after several people attacked him in the 400 block of West New Castle Street. A caller reported seeing the unknown assailants get out of a vehicle and assault Jay, who fled.Police found him walking on West Jefferson Street in front of Peter's Chocolates. His head and face were bleeding. Officers also noted that he smelled of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated.According to a police report, Jay had a swollen lip and was bleeding from the mouth. He had a large bump on his head and a cut to the right side of his face. However, he refused medical treatment even after police tried to get his mother to intervene.Officers took him to a holding cell at the police station until he could sober up. Police also cited him from public drunkenness.Jay's mother, meanwhile, told investigators that her son knew his attackers but did not want anything done. “He stated he would handle it himself,” the police report said.Saturday — An unknown thief broke into an unlocked vehicle in the 300 block of East Locust Street and took $140 from a wallet that was in the center console. The owner found the wallet on the passenger side floor of the vehicle, which had been ransacked. The theft happened between 1 and 3 a.m.7:40 p.m. Friday — Ten-year-old Jazmyn Harris of Butler was hurt when a car struck the bicycle she was riding on East Jefferson Street. The girl told police that her bike was hit when she tried to cross the road between two parked car.The car, driven by Travis J. Matuke, 23, of Butler Township, struck the bike's rear tire. Matuke said he did not see the child until it was too late.The girl's mother took her daughter to Butler Memorial Hospital with minor scrapes and bruises to the left ankle, knee and forearm.Police filed no charges in the accident.11:18 a.m. Aug. 5 — James T. Russell Jr., 55, of Butler was hurt when a car accidentally hit him in the Pullman Square shopping center. Russell was struck as he walked behind the car driven by Cecil S. Williams, 62, of Parker Township, who was pulling out of a parking space outside the Kmart store.Williams told police that he did not see anyone and stopped when he heard “a loud impact.” He got out and saw Russell lying on the ground.Russell was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital with unknown injuries. Police said no charges were filed in the accident.Aug. 5 — A Butler boy's bicycle was stolen from the bike rack in front of the YMCA on North Washington Street. The 12-year-old boy told police that he had chained and locked the bike to the rack. The green Chaos bicycle, valued at $150, was taken between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.July 29 — Police cited Curtis L. Philips, 44, of Butler for hit-and-run stemming from an accident that happened at 12:51 a.m. July 26 when his car drifted backward at a traffic light at South McKean and East Wayne streets and hit a parked pickup truck.The crash ejected Patrick Pickering, 33, of Butler from the pickup's cargo area. He was not hurt.Philips later admitted that he accidentally hit the truck and “made a mistake by leaving the scene,” according to a police report.

2:05 a.m. Sunday — Jason E. Matthews, 24, of Evans City was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence at Route 528 and Ridge Road in Jackson Township.Sunday — Police reported that an unspecified amount of Vicodin pills were discovered missing from the Lakewood Manor Personal Care Home in Harris Road in Clearfield Township. The prescription painkillers possibly were taken as far back as June 21, according to a police report.12:15 p.m. Friday — Peter L. McGuckin, 54, of Slippery Rock was charged after allegedly creating a disturbance at Slippery Rock High School in Slippery Rock Township. A police report said that McGuckin walked into the school office and “continually confronted and yelled at office personnel.” He faces charges of trespass and disorderly conduct.10:01 a.m. Friday — A pickup truck driven by Edward C. Finney, 72, of West Sunbury crashed into a guardrail and rolled over on rain-soaked Route 308 just south of Holbein Lane in Center Township.6 a.m. Friday — A Mercer County man was hurt when a turning Peterbilt truck struck the car he was driving at Routes 108 and 258 in Slippery Rock. David Prada, 30, of Hermitage, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to Grove City Medical Center with moderate injuries.The truck driver, Michael R. Massart, 26, of Sarver, was cited for making an improper left turn, police said.July 16 — A burglar between July 14 and 16 used some kind of a blunt object to break into the Little League press box storage area on 10th Street in East Butler. The unknown crook made off with food items from the freezer and shelves.The East Butler Baseball Association owns the stolen property, valued at $12.50. The storage area sustained an estimated $275 in damage.The same suspect, according to a police report, tried but failed to break into the nearby Pony Colt League press box/concession stand storage shed.Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call police at 724-284-8100.

Wednesday — Police reported Joseph Leroy Swartz Jr., 42, and Clint Edward Stevenson, 19, both of Grove City face citations for furnishing alcohol to minors and corruption of minors stemming from an underage drinking party in 2012.

2:42 a.m. Sunday — Edward Martin Buffington 58, no address given, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence after allegedly causing a disturbance at the Sheetz store on Route 422 in Manor Township. Police said Buffington, who was placed in the Armstrong County Jail on a probation violation, faces charges of DUI, public drunkenness and disorderly conduct.Saturday — Gerald Michael Watterson, no age or address given, was arrested after he allegedly bit the fingers of his 25-year-old girlfriend during a domestic dispute at a home on Glade Run Road in East Franklin. He also shoved the woman to the ground.Watterson was arraigned on a charge of simple assault and placed in the Armstrong County Jail on $5,000 bail.Saturday — Two gas cans holding a combined 8 gallons of gasoline were stolen from a shed in a burglary on Kaylor-Frogtown Road in Bradys Bend Township. The break-in happened between Aug. 1 and Saturday.8 a.m. Friday — Morgan J. Elwood, 28, of Kittanning lost control of his car and struck a guardrail on Route 28 just south of the Slate Lick exit in South Buffalo Township. After the crash, the car traveled back onto the road and hit a truck driven by Justin D. Fox, 34, of Kittanning.Police said Elwood was cited for driving at an unsafe speed.1:15 a.m. Aug. 1 — Someone threw a sign through a double-pane window at the Srader Grove Presbyterian Church on Srader Grove Road in South Buffalo Township. The unknown vandal apparently had driven to the church.The sign read: “Do not walk across wash rack.” Any business missing that sign is asked to call police at 724-543-2011.

11:25 a.m. Aug. 5 — A man riding a white, older model motorcycle is suspected of refusing to stop for police at Routes 208 and 258 near the Sheetz store in Springfield Township.Police said they later found the man but not the motorcycle. Charges of fleeing or attempting to elude police are pending against the suspect, who police did not identify.

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