STATE
PITTSBURGH — A former California University of Pennsylvania student who made pipe bombs in his dorm room and suburban Pittsburgh home has been sentenced to five years probation.
U.S. District Judge Gustave Diamond also ordered 20-year-old Michael Blattner to continue with mental health treatment and to never possess firearms or explosive devices.
Diamond said Monday that Blattner never threatened harm and noted that a "definable disorder" led to the crime.
Two experts testified that Blattner has Asperger's disorder and other diagnosed mental conditions which he's been treated for since childhood.
SEWARD — The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office is seeking more than $40,000 that a Western Pennsylvania volunteer fire company earned from Texas Hold 'em fundraisers.Senior Deputy Attorney General Robert Stewart says the games are illegal gambling and it's unlawful to profit from them.The office has filed for forfeiture of proceeds the Seward Volunteer Fire Company earned from several tournaments.An attorney for the fire company couldn't be reached for comment.
ALLENTOWN — A Wal-Mart shopper ran into a foe inside the store and beat him with an aluminum bat he grabbed from a shelf, police said.Jose Millan, 49, had an ongoing feud with the victim, 62-year-old Jose Baez-Barreto, according to police. Millan spotted the older man at a McDonald's inside the Allentown store Sunday and started swinging at him, police said."I'm going to kill you!" he screamed as he struck Baez-Barreto several times, according to the police affidavit.The victim's brother and a store employee intervened, and Millan dropped the bat and fled. He was arrested in the parking lot and later charged with aggravated assault and other offenses.Millan was being held on $35,000 bail. It was not clear if he had a lawyer.Baez-Barreto was treated and released from a hospital.
