Teen charged as adult

Teen charged as adult
ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. -- A 16-year-old faces adult charges after a police officer was assaulted. Pennsylvania State Police said Joseph James Yhelka Jr. was charged with three counts of aggravated assault, three counts of simple assault, one count of propulsion of missiles, two counts of recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief.
Police said Yhelka was standing at Lawrence Avenue and 14th Street at 11:40 p.m. Monday kicking and striking passing cars and then charged a moving car with a cement block.
Ellwood City Police Officer Michael McBride was directly behind the car and got out and chased Yhelka. State police said Yhelka grabbed a 30-pound rock and charged the police officer. McBride hit the suspect with a collapsible baton, causing him to drop the rock and the two struggled before McBride was able to handcuff him, police said.
State police said charges were filed in adult court because a deadly weapon was used.
Crash shears off wheel
SALEM -- No one was hurt when a tractor-trailer ran a red light Tuesday afternoon and hit a pickup truck at U.S. Route 62 and Benton Road. The semi driver, 27-year-old Wendy McMullen of Manville, Ill., told Perry Township police she was headed east on Benton, watching for a route marker and didn't notice that the light was red. The right-rear wheel was sheared off the southbound pickup truck being driven by Thomas Knoedler, 56, of Seacrist Road, and became lodged under the trailer of McMullen's rig. McMullen was cited for a red light violation.
False fireworks alarm
SALEM -- City police were dispatched to the 600 block of East Third Street around 12:35 p.m. Tuesday after a resident reported hearing someone setting off fireworks. When officers got there, they discovered the noise was just some children popping balloons.
Vandals break car windows
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Windows in 16 cars were broken by vandals overnight. Police said vandals drove past the cars from a moving vehicle from 11:45 p.m. Monday to 1 a.m. today. Cars damaged were on East Avenue, East Stewart Avenue, Stewart Avenue, Elm Street, Rosedale Avenue and Wilber Avenue.
Flag disposal ceremony
POLAND -- Sons of The American Legion Mahoning Valley Squadron 15 will sponsor its fourth annual flag disposal ceremony at 8 p.m. Thursday at the Post 15 Home, 35 Cortland St. The public is invited to participate in the ceremony where worn, frayed, torn or faded American flags will be honorably retired. Flags may be dropped off at the post home in the receptacle marked flag disposal, or by contacting (330) 750-0488.
Cost of lodging rises
BEDFORD, Pa. (AP) -- Spending the night in Bedford County's motels and hotels just got a little more expensive. The county's 2 percent hotel-motel tax, also known as a bed tax, went into effect this month. The tax, which will be on top of the state's 6 percent sales tax, is expected to generate about $200,000 annually. Still, Bedford County's bed tax is lower than the 3 percent tax already being charged in surrounding Cambria, Somerset and Blair counties. Motel owners say the tax will have little impact on lodgers.
Disciplined over handgun
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A screening manager at Pittsburgh International Airport shouldn't have let a passenger handle a loaded handgun at a ticket counter in April, a U.S. Transportation Security Administration official said Tuesday. The unidentified manager was suspended without pay for two days for failing to call police, as required by federal regulations, TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said. Screeners and supervisors who work for the federal agency, as well as passengers, are not allowed to touch weapons found during luggage searches.
On April 15, a gun was discovered in the passenger's luggage. The screening manager was notified and she escorted the passenger to the airline ticket counter with his bag, Hatfield said. The passenger bought a gun case, which is required of passengers who carry handguns in their checked luggage, and picked up the .22-caliber handgun to remove the bullets, Hatfield said.
"There were bullets in the clip, but not in the chamber," Hatfield said. "[The passenger] picked it up and removed the clip from it and placed it in the locking case."
His bag was rescreened and he was allowed to board his flight.
While it's legal to pack an unloaded firearm in checked luggage, it's illegal to pack a loaded gun. No firearms are allowed in carry-on bags.