Judge asks man what he was on during incident

SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP — “I don’t know what you were on that day, because your behavior was so bizarre,” Mercer County Common Pleas Judge John C. Reed told a man he sentenced Tuesday for menacing a woman with a knife and a car antenna.

Mark Allen Hayward, 37, formerly of Karns City, allegedly attacked the woman on June 12 in the parking lot of Prime Outlets at Grove City, Springfield Township, with a sheathed knife and snapped the antenna off her car, “waving it around like Zorro,” Reed said.

He was sentenced to six to 12 months in jail and was ordered to pay costs on charges of terroristic threats, simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct.

The woman locked herself in her vehicle and called 911. Hayward fled to a home on Golf Road in Jefferson Township and was arrested on state Route 58 in Coolspring Township.

Hayward said he was depressed, which spurred the incident. His defense attorney, Dana Flick, asked for a probationary sentence because Hayward has a detainer on him from Colorado for sexual assault.

Two men plead guilty to stealing scrap metal

SHARON — Two men charged with stealing $3,000 worth of metal railroad equipment to sell for scrap pleaded guilty Thursday to misdemeanor charges in district court.

Ed Odem Jr., 58, of 547 S. Stateline Road, Sharon, and Tommie Phillips, 48, of 151 Shenango Blvd., Farrell, each pleaded guilty to theft and criminal conspiracy at preliminary hearings before District Judge James E. McMahon, Sharon.

In exchange for their pleas, charges of receiving stolen property, felony theft and one count of conspiracy were withdrawn.

The men were charged after a traffic stop about 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24 when a patrolman noticed a large quantity of steel parts in the back of Odem’s van, police said. The metal was taken from American Industries.

Odem and Phillips were both sentenced to two-years of probation and ordered to pay $143.50 in court costs. Odem was given credit for 10 days served in Mercer County Jail in lieu of a fine and Phillips was fined $400.

Businesses beware: Scam artist trolls region

SHARON — A Sharon business was the target of a check-cashing scam that’s hit other northwestern Pennsylvania towns in recent weeks.

Sharon police Chief Mike Menster said a man claiming to be a high school basketball coach on March 8 passed a phony check at a restaurant in the 900 block of Division Street.

The man was white and appeared to be about 50 years old, police said. He ordered food and paid with a $130 “transcheck” and got cash back, police said.

Similar incidents are under investigation by various police departments and state police, Menster said. Someone pulled the scam at McDonald’s in Grove City and Warren, Pa., on March 14 and the next day in Titusville.

Menster said he’s seen other scams over the years where bogus checks bounce, but the story of a coach with a team to feed is unique.

Menster said police want local businesses to know that if someone comes in with a similar story to be cautious. If it seems suspicious, Menster said to call local police.

“If it’s legit, that’s fine,” Menster said. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Man, 19, gets time for burglary, assault

LACKAWANNOCK TOWNSHIP — A 19-year-old Shenango Township man will spend two to five years in prison for breaking into a 44-year-old woman’s home, ransacking it and assaulting her.

James Daniel David Gilkey, 20, of 230 Minner Road pleaded guilty in January to burglary and indecent assault. He was sentenced Tuesday by Mercer County Common Pleas Judge John C. Reed.

State police said Gilkey broke into the Kirkland Drive home in Lackawannock Township and stole $50 after rummaging through the mobile home.

He then came upon the sleeping victim and tried to cut her clothes off with a steak knife, sexually assaulted her and woke her up.

The victim chased Gilkey away and he fled in her vehicle, which crashed into a snow bank, police said.

Gilkey claims to not remember parts of the incident and he entered an Alford plea to the indecent assault charge, which is not an admission of guilt but is considered a guilty plea.

On Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney William J. Moder III said Gilkey did take responsibility for the act but said he did not remember it.

Gilkey was also ordered to pay $634 restitution.

Drunk man passed out in middle of road, police say

MASURY — A Wheatland man was found at about 10:30 p.m. Monday lying in the middle of Brookfield Avenue with his pants “down to his knees,” police said.

Christopher M. Kriebel, 18, of 38 Canal St., was thought to have been hit by a car when police were unable to wake him in the 700 block of Brookfield Avenue, police said. Paramedics found Kriebel “was passed out from consuming alcohol beverages” and police said they spent 25 minutes trying to “make sense” with him and find out his name.

Kriebel was charged with offenses involving underage persons, police said.

Second truck stolen from township business

PYMATUNING TOWNSHIP — A second truck was stolen from the sales lot of a North Hermitage Road business in Pymatuning Township, Police Chief John R. Miller said Tuesday.

The business’ owner reported that a yellow 1991 three-quarter ton Dodge pickup truck with no license plate was stolen sometime Monday night, Miller said.

A black 1998 Dodge Ram pickup truck with no license plate was stolen after 4 p.m. Sunday and police suspect the trucks were either hot-wired or towed away, he said.

Anyone with information about the trucks is asked to call police at 724-646-1155.

Zoning officer: Check out contractors with city

SHARON — A company not licensed to operate as a contractor in the city of Sharon has been soliciting people with high pressure sales tactics, city zoning officer Frank Smeraglia said.

Such companies often target the elderly, Smeraglia said, and people have reported getting phone calls claiming they signed up at a mall to be contacted. Smeraglia declined to name the company people have gotten calls from.

One man told Smeraglia that a salesman came to his home and had him sign paperwork saying he wasn’t interested. Then the man got notice that his credit application had been approved, Smeraglia said.

Smeraglia said that if anyone gets a call from a contractor wanting to do some work they should call the city and find out if they’re licensed and bonded in Sharon.

People should also be careful about signing things, he said.

If they’re skeptical about a company or an offer, Smeraglia also suggested folks talk with family, friends or even an attorney as word of a good contractor often travels by word of mouth.