Two Men Facing Trial on Labor Ready Theft Charges

Two Beaver County men accused of cashing stolen checks from Labor Ready will stand trial.

Joseph Stickles, 39, of Hopewell Township, waived three counts of bad checks and one count each of theft and receiving stolen property to court.  Timothy Sepella, 28, of Ambridge, waived eight counts of writing bad checks, and one count each of forgery and theft. 

Leetsdale police said Sepella stole checks from Labor Ready, where he previously worked in the office, and used an old typewriter to issue three checks to Stickles and eight to himself. Police said a total of $2,922 in checks were forged. 

Labor Ready became aware of the theft in June after all of the checks bounced, police said. Both men have been ordered to repay the money within 90 days.

The following people were charged and scheduled for preliminary hearings Oct. 23 at District Judge Robert Ford's office in Leetsdale:

• Lauren Morrow, 42, of Leetsdale, charged with eight counts of forgery and one count of theft. Leetsdale police said Morrow took eight checks belonging to a borough resident and cashed them totaling $1,015. Police said the thefts occurred over the course of several months.

• Scott Easter, 51, of Leetsdale, charged with possession of a small amount of marijuana and driving under the influence. Leetsdale police said Easter was stopped Sept. 15 after his vehicle was seen on Route 65 traveling into a closed lane three times where there were numerous construction workers. During a search police found marijuana and a pipe. Police did not report blood-alcohol results.

• Jason Hillwig, 40, of Cranberry, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Sewickley police reported Hillwig was stopped June 30 on Route 65 after his vehicle was seen swerving.  Police reported a blood-alcohol content of 0.195 percent, above the state’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.

• Henry Morris, 59, of Ambridge, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Leetsdale police reported Morris was stopped Aug. 10 in a sobriety checkpoint on Route 65.

• Erick Dixon, 40, of Freedom, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Sewickley police reported Dixon was stopped Aug. 10 on Route 65 after his vehicle was seen drifting. Police did not report blood-alcohol results.  

• Louise Carson, 27, of Pittsburgh, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.  Franklin Park police stopped Carson Sept. 7 after his vehicle was seen on southbound Interstate 79 with an obscured temporary license plate. Police reported a blood-alcohol content of 0.195 percent, above the state’s legal limit of 0.203 percent.

• Michael Wissner, 40, of Ambridge, charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.  Franklin Park police Police reported a blood-alcohol content of 0.098 percent, above the state’s legal limit of 0.203 percent.

Reduced

• William Jones, 55, of Sewickley, charged with simple assault. Sewickley police reported Jones punched someone in the head 20 to 30 times on June 2 in Glen Osborne. Charges reduced to harassment.

• Spencer Hayes, 26, of Sewickley, charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia by Franklin Park police. Charges reduced to disorderly conduct.