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Richard M. Danko

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

10-Year-Old Burglarizes Whitehall Apartment

And four other stories in these borough police notes.

10-Year-Old Burglar Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said that a 10-year-old boy is to blame for burglarizing an apartment in the 1600 block of Skyline Drive in Whitehall Borough's Wallace (Prospect) Park area. Police went to that residence at around 9:39 p.m. on Friday to find glass from a broken window on the apartment's floor and its tenant complaining that some Xbox gaming equipment had been stolen. Police investigated the theft in that immediate area, conducted interviews and determined that the 10-year-old, who lives on nearby Parkline Drive, was to blame. The stolen items were returned to their owner that same night, and because of the boy's age, Danko said, no juvenile allegations will be filed against him. Teen …

In this Article:

Whitehall Police Department, Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Wallace Park (Prospect Park), and 3 more ›

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cc

9:17 am on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

They need to charge the parents for this. A 10 year old is to young to be charged in the juvenile system.   more ›

Another Act of Violence at Whitehall School

Disorderly conduct and terroristic threats charges have been filed.

Cornell Jaquay Brown, an 18-year-old student at Wesley Spectrum Highland Services in Whitehall Borough, has been charged with disorderly conduct and making terroristic threats from his actions at the school on Jan. 8, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. Danko said that Whitehall police officers responded to the Highland Services building at around 1:56 that afternoon to find the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Brown punching things and making threats to school staff members, damaging numerous pieces of school property in the process.  After about 45 minutes of police presence, Brown settled down, Danko said, and was placed on a bus to be sent home. Brown resides at 6943 Bennett St. in Pittsburgh's Homewood West neighborhood. He is …

In this Article:

Wesley Spectrum Highland Services, Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Whitehall Police Department, and 1 more ›

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Robert Edward Healy, III

5:32 pm on Tuesday, April 23, 2013

UPDATE: Brown's preliminary hearing before Barton has been continued to May 28.   more ›

St. Gabriel School Burglary Caught on Tape

The Whitehall Borough break-in was recorded by security cameras.

A person has been charged with two counts each of burglary, theft and criminal trespass at St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin School in Whitehall Borough after stealing two TVs and a radio from the school over its Christmas and New Year's break. The thefts were discovered on Jan. 3—the day that students returned from break—according to a letter sent from school Principal Barbara Sawyer to students' parents and guardians. The letter states that the burglary was able to be captured by security cameras, and through an investigation done by the Whitehall Police Department, a suspect was identified and arrested on Jan. 4. St. Gabriel Pastor John R. Haney has requested that the arrested not be identified, but Haney said that the person is not a…

In this Article:

St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin Church and School, Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Whitehall Police Department, and 1 more ›

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Vulgar Message Left on Whitehall Resident's Truck

And three other stories in these Whitehall Borough police notes.

Vulgar Message A resident from the 1700 block of Skyline Drive in the Wallace (Prospect) Park area notified Whitehall Borough police at around 3:38 p.m. on Monday that his Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck had recently been vandalized, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. The victim's truck had several scratch marks on it, apparently made by a key used by an unknown person. Some of the scratches—made sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning while the truck was parked to the rear of the victim's apartments building—spelled out the word "whore," Danko said. The victim said that he did not have any problems with his building's management or with fellow residents of his building. Whitehall police are investigating. …

In this Article:

Wallace Park (Prospect Park), Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), and Whitehall Police Department

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Whitehall Burglar Gets 5-10 Years

Police chased Plack onto a roof along Grove Road in November 2011.

The man whom Whitehall Borough police officers chased onto a roof along Grove Road a little over a year ago has been sentenced to 5-10 years of confinement for burglarizing homes near Whitehall's Caste Village area. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Donald E. Machen issued that sentence to Jonathan Patrick Plack, 31, of 406 Meeting House Rd. in South Fayette Township, on Tuesday. Plack pleaded guilty on July 9 to Whitehall police's charges of burglary (two counts) and theft, resisting arrest and possession of an instrument of crime with intent to employ it criminally (one count each). Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko reported on Nov. 8, 2011, that police received a call from the 5000 block of Azalea Drive during …

In this Article:

Whitehall Police Department, Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Caste Village, and 2 more ›

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Suspected Heroin Overdose on Skyline Drive

And five other stories in these Whitehall police notes.

Suspected Overdose Whitehall Borough police officers arrived at a residence in the 1600 block of Skyline Drive in the Wallace (Prospect) Park area at around 9:47 a.m. on Sunday for a report of an unconscious male, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. Crews from Medical Rescue Team South Authority also came to the scene to find the man—Nicholas Antonio Miller, 24, of 2922 Glenmore Ave. in Dormont Borough—in a state of "ineffective breathing," Danko said. Danko said that Miller was suffering from an apparent overdose of a controlled substance and that he was in possession of a syringe that contained what is suspected to be heroin. An ambulance took him to UPMC Mercy Hospital for treatment, Danko said. A Mercy representative …

In this Article:

Teen Charged with Assault at Whitehall School, Giant Eagle Manager Prevents Yet Another Theft, Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), and 3 more ›

Giant Eagle Manager Prevents Yet Another Theft

A Brentwood woman is arrested this time.

At least three times in the past month, would-be thieves have left or tried to leave the same grocery store in Whitehall Borough without paying for items in their possession, and all three of those times, the local police have gotten their hands on them—but not before store management has. Shortly after noon on Friday, the manager of the Caste Village Giant Eagle—Phillip Scott—called police to report that he had just prevented a woman from walking out of his store with over $200 in stolen merchandise, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. Scott said that he noticed the woman bypassing store registers with the stolen goods and trying to blend in among paying customers while exiting the store, according to Danko. At that point…

In this Article:

Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Giant Eagle, Whitehall Police Department, and 3 more ›

Megan Michaels

6:41 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012

phil scott is one of my managers of that store he is a caste village hero   more ›

Teen Charged with Assault at Whitehall School

The 18-year-old is accused of attacking a secretary and a nurse.

Christopher James Verdoni, an 18-year-old student at Wesley Spectrum Highland Services in Whitehall Borough, has been charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and making terroristic threats from his actions at the school on Thursday morning, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. Danko said that Whitehall police officers responded to the Highland Services building at around 11:10 that morning. Two of the school's staff members—a nurse and a secretary—told police that they were injured there while attempting to control Verdoni. The employees said that Verdoni punched one of them in the back of the head/neck area and threw the other against a wall, according to Danko. Verdoni, who lives at 900 Manor Dr. in Collier …

In this Article:

Wesley Spectrum Highland Services, Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), and Whitehall Police Department

Concerned BHS Mom

11:15 pm on Sunday, May 12, 2013

They will probably admit him back into the Baldwin-Whitehall School District, this seems to be the standard set in place. From what I understand there is a student who currently attends Baldwin High School who has a similar criminal background and after a judge deemed the young man mentally unfit to stand trail, our Superintendent and his team of geniuses readmitted this student back into the …   more ›

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Two Whitehall Police Officers Injured During Altercation

And two other stories in these Whitehall police notes, both also from the Prospect Park area.

Two Officers Injured Two Whitehall Borough police officers were injured while trying to arrest a man for marijuana possession in the Wallace (Prospect) Park area at around 1:44 a.m. on Sunday, Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko said. The officers were responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle pulling into the rear of the 1550 Radford Rd. apartments building, and upon investigating, the officers came across Kenneth Charles Benzo, 27, who lives at 1 Palisades Plaza, Apt. B4, in Rankin Borough. Benzo was in possession of a small amount of marijuana, Danko said. Benzo tried to run from the officers. He was eventually wrestled down by them, but both officers were injured in the process, Danko said. Neither officer has yet to …

In this Article:

Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Wallace Park (Prospect Park), and Whitehall Police Department

cc

9:12 am on Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Whitehall Police deserve a big thank you for all they do. This is what Police are suppose to be doing solving crimes and keeping drugs off our streets.   more ›

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Another Large Marijuana Bust in Whitehall Boro

And two other incidents involving drugs and alcohol in these borough police notes.

Search Warrant Leads to Marijuana Bust at Prospect Apartment Whitehall Borough police officers who went into 1821 Skyline Dr., Apt. 21, with a search warrant at around 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 28 reported finding over a half-pound of marijuana and an assortment of drug paraphernalia there, according to Whitehall police Deputy Chief Richard M. Danko. The officers obtained a warrant for the Wallace (Prospect) Park-area apartment based on an ongoing investigation regarding drug sales originating from the residence, Danko said. Among the paraphernalia that the officers found were digital scales, smoking pipes, packaging material, U.S. currency stored inside of a plastic container, and a marijuana grinder. Three men were inside of the apartment at the…

In this Article:

Borough of Whitehall Municipal Complex (Administrative Offices and Outdoor Recreation), Whitehall Police Department, Wallace Park (Prospect Park), and 2 more ›

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cc

1:21 am on Thursday, September 6, 2012

Agree. The last time there was a drug bust by Whitehall a few people were upset over the drug bust, as they said the cops should be doing other things besides looking for pot smokers. The more drugs they take away though drug bust the better the community is.   more ›

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