Police Blotter: A Snake in the Ceiling and Other Animal Complaints

and firefighters were dealing with several types of animal-related calls this month after reports came in that ranged from dog complaints to bats and snakes.

On June 11, police found a stray Bantam rooster at 6 p.m. on Straight Street. Police contacted the owner, who lives on Centennial Avenue, but the owner was out of town. Sewickley Police Sgt. Bob McNatt planned to take care of the rooster until the owner returned home.

Police were called to a home in the 900 block of Nevin Avenue at 8:30 p.m. June 12 for a report of a bat in the residence. Two officers were able to catch the bat and dispose of it.

Police on June 14 cited a borough man for failing to confine his dog after police said the man was warned several times to keep his dog contained. Police responded at 1:20 p.m. to the 500 block of Centennial Avenue for a report of a loose dog. Police recognized the brindle-colored boxer as belonging to Hugh McMasters. McMasters told police the reason the dog keeps getting out is because everyone feeds it. Police said this has been an ongoing problem and that McMasters would be cited through the mail.

Police were dispatched at 10 a.m. June 12 to a home in the 300 block of Grant Street for a report of a sick squirrel in the yard. Officers arrived and were  escorted to the rose garden, where a conscious young squirrel was found unable to keep its balance. Police said it appeared that a vehicle had struck the squirrel and that the animal had wandered from Beaver Street into the yard. Police used a garbage bag and a shovel from the homeowner to place the squirrel in the bag. The squirrel was taken to the police department’s shooting range area and released into the wild to let nature take its course, police said.

And late last month,  Co. firefighters were called to a home on River Road in Haysville at 10:50 p.m. for a report of a 6- to 7-foot snake in the kitchen ceiling. Firefighters were unable to locate the reptile.

Sewickley Police also supplied the following information; arrests do not indicate a conviction.

Scam warning

• A Sewickley resident received a telephone call claiming that she had won a lottery and should send money to Jamaica to pay the taxes. No money was sent, and the incident was reported to police shortly before 5 p.m. June 14, police said.

Underage drinking cited

• Police stopped June 4 in the 400 block of Beaver Street when they saw Cole Alexander, 20, and a 21-year-old exit a vehicle with several bottles of beer. Alexander was cited for underage drinking, police said.

• Police stopped a car on the Sewickley Bridge at 2:53 a.m. June 10 and observed that four of the people inside appeared to have been drinking alcohol. The four were underage and tested positive for alcohol. Police cited Erin Kelly, Megan Condit, Kelly Tresser and Sarah Metarko, all 19, and of Cranberry, with underage drinking and released them to their parents.

Drunken driving charged

• Police stopped a Rochester man’s car at 2:15 a.m. June 6 after witnesses reported his vehicle being driven erratically. Raymond Spahler agreed to take a field sobriety test and failed. Police said he later admitted to taking three types of prescription pills and smoking crack-cocaine. He was taken to Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital for a blood-alcohol test and was later released to his girlfriend. Test results were not reported.

Two-vehicle crash

• A Leetsdale man was taken to Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital after a two-vehicle accident involving an ambulance on Route 65 at Broad Street. Police said Donald Bobincheck, 39, of Leetsdale, was sitting at the intersection on Route 65 when his car was struck from the behind. Bobincheck complained of neck and back pain and was taken to the hospital for evaluation, police said.

• Police responded to a two-vehicle accident June 9 involving a car and a tractor-trailer on Route 65 at Chestnut Street. George French, 74, of Sewickley complained of pain when police arrived at 9:30 a.m. He was taken by ambulance to Heritage Valley Sewickley Hospital. French told police he was in his car waiting for the light to change to green, then proceeded, when his car was struck by a tractor-trailer driven by Timothy M. Tyrrell, 42, of Parkersburg, WV. Police said Tyrrell was operating a 2007 Mack truck pulling a full-size empty trailer belonging to R&J Trucking Co. of Youngstown, OH. Witnesses told police Tyrrell was speeding and had a red light, but Tyrrell told police he wasn’t speeding and had a green light.  He was transported to Sewickley Hospital for a blood-alcohol test, cited with failing to obey traffic signals, and released to a friend. The blood was taken to the Allegheny Medical Examiner’s office for processing, police said. Police did not provide French’s condition.

Parked vehicle struck

• A Columbia Gas Co. worker backed a company work vehicle into a parked vehicle, causing minor damage to the hood of the other car. The incident happened at 11 a.m. June 9 on Walnut Street in Sewickley.

Police chase reported

• Police ended up running after a man after stopping his car for a bad exhaust system at 9:15 p.m. June 8 on Route 65. Police said the car pulled into the Subway parking lot in Leetsdale and the driver jumped out and ran toward Beaver Street. Police chased the driver but didn’t catch him. The passenger told police the driver’s name was John Bracken, 22, of Harmony, and that he had just been released from the Allegheny County Jail.