News From The State Police

An Emporium motorcyclist was injured Sunday night in a crash on Winslow Hill near Benezette in Elk County.

Michael J. Reid, 46, was admitted to Elk Regional Health Center after his cycle slid on the wet pavement of Rt. 255 and crashed into a ditch. State police from Ridgway, who investigated, said Reid was ejected from the motorcycle. The accident occurred at about 6:15 and resulted in severe damage to the cycle.

Police are investigating the theft of a dirt bike and a go-kart from a home near Kersey. The items were discovered missing last Wednesday from the property of Joann Bennett on South Kersey Road in Fox Township.

An Emporium man is charged with violation of the wiretapping law for allegedly tape-recording telephone conversations of his wife. State police from Emporium filed the charge against James Singer of Sizerville Road. The victim was Bobbi Jo Singer.

State police also charged an Emporium woman, 50-yearold Kay Baker, with driving under the influence of alcohol after stopping her on Rt. 555 in Driftwood Sunday night at about 10:00.

Police didn't take long to round up suspects in last Wednesday's break-in at Jubilee Foods in Port Allegany.

Charges have been brought against three Port Allegany residents: Christopher Rethmel, Shawn M. Griffith and Danielle Toupin, all age 23. Police allege that Rethmel and Griffith climbed onto the roof of the business, tore out a section of steel and stole more than $5,200 from a safe. Toupin was found in possession of half the cash the following day. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for all three suspects on Sept. 18 before District Judge Bill Todd in Smethport.

Two McKean County brothers are facing trial for indecent behavior involving teenaged victims. Michael Young, 27, of Lewis Run is charged with corruption of minors, identity theft, false identification and driving with a suspended license. Police claim that in January 2005, he had inappropriate contact with a 16-year-old girl and later misindentified himself as his brother, Shawn. Meanwhile, Shawn Young, 25, also of Lewis Run, is accused of indecent exposure, open lewdness and disorderly conduct. Authorities contend he exposed himself to two teenaged girls this summer at a swimming area near Turtlepoint.

Tioga County authorities are investigating the death of a downstate man near the county line, close to the Potter and Lycoming County borders. Casey Krause, 31, of Schuylkill Haven may have drowned, or he may have died from injuries suffered when the car he was driving left the roadway and entered a creek. The Tioga County Coroner's Office said Krause's body was found Sunday morning, a few feet away from an overturned Jeep which had missed a curve and rolled down an embankment.

The theft of some tools from a Bingham Township garage last week is under investigation by state police at Denton Hill. Thieves went into a shed on property owned by Darold McCoy and walked off with two four-inch grinders, a welding helmet, a wrench and other items valued at $900.

Arson is the likely cause of a fire that destroyed a mobile home near Ridgway last Sunday morning. Pa. State Police Fire Marshal Thomas E. Josephson said his investigation determined that someone ignited the unoccupied structure on Okneski Road in Ridgway Township shortly after midnight. Josephson is also probing an act of arson late Thursday. About 70 round hay bales owned by Donald Raybuck of Reynoldsville were set ablaze in a field along Route 830, just west of Cooper Road in Washington Township.

Thieves were prepared to make off with about $6,000 in stolen items from a Kersey residence last Sunday morning when they were caught in the act. State police from Ridgway said homeowner Russ A. Ehrensberger and his son arrived at about 12:40 to find two juveniles burglarizing the property. One of the thieves was detained while the other escaped.

Kane-based state police are investigating another theft of copper wire from along a railroad grade. Sometime between Monday and Wednesday, thieves made off with 5,000 feet of copper wire from the Buffalo and Pittsburgh Railroad Company track adjacent to the Campbelltown Road in Hamlin Township.