Man Charged in Whitehall Police Altercation Headed to County Court

The following results are from recent hearings held in the Caste Village office of Magistrate David J. Barton of District Court 05-2-17:

Whitehall Borough Charges

• Whitehall Borough police charged Kenneth Charles Benzo, 27, of 1 Palisades Plaza, Apt. B4, in Rankin Borough, with  on Nov. 18. Benzo's Jan. 29 hearing before Barton was waived, and he will face those charges at the Allegheny County Courthouse on March 18.

• Whitehall Borough police charged Jenna Rose Difrancesco, 28, of 105 Kaplan Ave. in Brentwood Borough, with driving under the influence of alcohol, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, aggravated harassment by a prisoner and institutional vandalism following an arrest on Route 51 on Feb. 4. Difrancesco's Feb. 19 hearing before Barton was waived, and she will face those charges at the Allegheny County Courthouse on April 8.

• Whitehall police charged Ryan Christopher Brooks, 18, of 3197 Bel Air Dr. in Whitehall, with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver on July 31. Brooks' Oct. 30 hearing before Barton was waived, and he faced those charges at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Jan. 28. He then had a Feb. 15 pretrial conference, which resulted in a non-jury trial scheduled to start on April 24.

• Whitehall police charged Marley Fisher, 24, of 5369 Orchard Hill Dr. in Whitehall, with theft on Oct. 19. Fisher's Oct. 30 hearing before Barton was waived, and she faced that charge at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Feb. 21. She will now have a March 15 pretrial conference.

• Whitehall police charged Lucy Marie Husser, 54, of 5115 Union Ave. in Union Township, with harassment on Oct. 11. Barton dismissed that charge on Jan. 28.

• Whitehall police charged Shakil Deonte Brown, 19, of 1695 Parkline Dr., Apt. 38, in Whitehall's Wallace (Prospect) Park area, with on Nov. 3. Brown's Feb. 19 hearing before Barton was waived, and he will face that charge at the Allegheny County Courthouse on April 8.

• Whitehall police charged Jozo Grgic, 52, of 1651 Skyline Dr., Apt. 24, in the Prospect Park area, on . Barton granted the withdrawal of the Dec. 20 harassment charge on Feb. 19, but Grgic will face the Dec. 24 charges before Barton on May 15.

• Whitehall police charged Jaga Upreti, 26, of 1620 Skyline, Apt. 3, with  on Nov. 7. On Dec. 11, Barton granted the withdrawal of the aggravated assault and disorderly conduct charges, and the remaining charges were waived for Allegheny County Court, where Upreti appeared on Jan. 30. He will now have a March 1 pretrial conference.

• Whitehall police charged Brenton Fawcett, 37, of 353 Brookline Blvd., with  on Nov. 3. On Nov. 13, Barton granted the withdrawal of Fawcett's robbery charge, but his remaining charges were waived for a Jan. 3 hearing at the Allegheny County Courthouse. He then had a Feb. 1 pretrial conference, which resulted in a non-jury trial scheduled to start on April 18.

• Whitehall police charged Roberta Lynn Black, 41, of 1030 Grand Ave. in Pittsburgh's Marshall-Shadeland neighborhood, with possession of drug paraphernalia and attempted retail theft on Nov. 7. Black's Nov. 20 hearing before Barton was canceled, and she faced those charges at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Feb. 11. Her case will now be part of an April 3 docket conference. That conference should result in the next legal step for Black's charges.

• Whitehall police charged Michael Grande, 55, of 525 Greenlee Rd. in Whitehall, with violating a borough ordinance on June 13 and July 18 that prohibits dogs and cats from running at large. On Feb. 14, Barton found Grande to be not guilty of the July 18 offense but guilty of the June 13 one and fined him $120.

• Whitehall police charged James Nhial, 32, of 1600 Skyline, with simple assault and harassment on Aug. 3. Nhial's Sept. 25 hearing before Barton was waived, and he faced those charges at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Nov. 9. He then had a Feb. 15 pretrial conference, which resulted in a non-jury trial scheduled to start on March 13.

• Whitehall police charged Joshua Gunter, 24, of 455 Streets Run Rd. in Whitehall, with  on Nov. 19. Barton held Gunter's charges on Nov. 27, and he faced them at the Allegheny County Courthouse on Jan. 15. He then had a Feb. 15 pretrial conference, which resulted in a non-jury trial scheduled to start on May 28.

Baldwin Township Charges

• Read here.

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