CRIME & SAFETY
Penn State building damaged in evening fire
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (WTAJ) – A Penn State storage facility on the back of a popular music store in downtown State College suffered fire damage Wednesday evening. Around 6 p.m., Alpha Fire Department and Penn State Police responded to the 100 block of N. Barnard Street for reports of a residential porch fire. When they […]
DUI checkpoint set in Pennsylvania
EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — State police announced DUI checkpoints will be placed across various roadways in Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania State Police, sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols aim to deter drinking and driving. Police say they are operating with a “zero-tolerance enforcement policy.” Police say one or more checkpoints and roving patrols will be placed […]
Building catches fire near Atherton Street
At 6:08 p.m., Alpha Fire Company received a report of a fire at the Smith Building. Firefighters were able to put out the fire within 15 minutes. The call was initially reported as a house fire, according to Centre Region Fire Director Shawn Kauffman. The Smith Building is a university-owned...
4 die in fiery crash as Pennsylvania police pursued their vehicle
CONCORD, Pa. (AP) — Three adults and a pregnant teenager died in a fiery crash as police pursued their vehicle in connection with retail thefts in southeastern Pennsylvania, authorities said. The car was speeding away from a traffic stop with seven people inside Wednesday afternoon when the driver lost control while using the right shoulder […]
Duo accused of child endangerment in Centre Hall
CENTRE HALL, Pa. (WTAJ) — State police have charged two Centre Hall residents for allegedly endangering multiple children. Troopers from PSP Rockview responded to a childline report at a home along the 2000 block of General Potter Highway on April 19 for suspected child abuse or neglect, according to charges filed. When police arrived, they […]
Police: Duo burglarized Huntingdon store, threw evidence in lake
HUNTINGDON, Pa. (WTAJ) – Police are connecting a string of burglaries in Centre and Huntingdon Counties back to two men, who they said admitted to throwing evidence into a lake. Anthony John Harkinson, 35, of Philipsburg, and Eric James Watkins, 42, of Howard, allegedly stole two cash registers from Seven Points Bait & Grocery in […]
Man allegedly headbutts woman during argument
Bellefonte, Pa. — A 31-year-old man was arrested after he reportedly headbutted a woman in the face. Now Braden Matthew Cool, 31, of Bellefonte is facing charges after Spring Township police were called to an apartment in Bellefonte for an alleged assault on April 20. Once at the home in the 200 block of Kenlee Drive, police spoke with a woman, Officer Bryce Green said. The woman had a lump...
Driver rescued following rollover down hill in Patton Township
PATTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WTAJ) – A vehicle rolled over an embankment, into a ball field near Park Forest Elementary Wednesday morning, trapping the driver inside. The white vehicle was driving along Valley Vista Drive in Patton Township, Centre County, when it crossed the yellow line into the opposite lane of traffic and veered off the […]
Penn State star defender facing assault charge related to alleged March incident, per reports
Penn State All-Big Ten defender Abdul Carter is facing a misdemeanor assault charge related to an alleged incident with a tow truck driver in College Township, Pa., according to multiple reports. Carter, a third-year junior who was a first-team All-Big Ten pick at linebacker in 2023, was charged Wednesday by...
Fire tears through Central PA butcher shop
CLINTON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — An overnight fire tore through a butcher shop in Mill Hall, prompting fire departments from Clinton, Lycoming and Centre County to respond. The fire broke out at Stoltzfus Butcher Shop after midnight Wednesday at 1784 East End Mountain Road. According to Citizens Hose Company of Jersey Shore, they were called […]
Powerful animal sedative making fentanyl crisis 'even more dangerous,' WH official says
Barb Williamson, a longtime advocate for drug addiction services in the Pennsylvania area, remembers when xylazine first showed up in her community. She said it was just over a year ago when patients started displaying new symptoms. “People would be coming in to Detox,” she said. “And the medication that...
Three Southern Tier Residents Killed in One-Vehicle Crash in Pennsylvania
Three people from the Southern Tier have lost their lives after a one-vehicle crash in Pennsylvania earlier this week. According to a release on the Athens Township Police Department Facebook page, the crash occurred around 2:40 a.m. on Tuesday, April 23rd on Riverside Drive north of the Sayre Bridge in Athens Township. The department says a 2013 Nissan Altima, being driven by 46-year-old Brett W. Relyea of Owego was traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control.
‘Birthday Bag Bandits' accused of stealing from multiple CVS stores in Pennsylvania
Police need your help identifying "Birthday Bag Bandits" accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of items from CVS stores in Montgomery and Bucks County. Police said the first incident happened on April 3 around 8:30 p.m. at the CVS located on the 200 block of E. Butler Ave in Ambler.
4 arrested, 2 sought for allegedly stealing cash, guns, jewelry from homes in Pa., NJ
Four people were arrested and police are searching for two more suspects in a burglary ring in which thousands of dollars, dozens of weapons, jewelry, electronics and other items were stolen from homes in Lehigh, Berks and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania as well as at least one home in New Jersey from 2007 until 2024, officials said.
Trooper honored with award for inspirational recovery from Lewistown shootout
Pennsylvania State Police Troop G honored Lt. James Wagner Wednesday for his heroic actions last year on June 17 in Lewistown, when he confronted an armed individual who fired shots at patrol vehicles parked outside the Lewistown barracks. Lt. Wagner was critically injured and Trooper Jacques Rougeau was killed by...
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