News Release

A Hagerstown man was charged with first-degree murder in the death of a homeless man who was found Saturday with severe blunt-force trauma to his head, according to Hagerstown Police Department Sgt. John Lehman and a news release from the police department. Police know the identity of the homeless man, a 47-year-old man whose last known address was in Hagerstown, but were not releasing it Sunday because they had not been able to find his next of kin, Lehman said. David Allen Miller, 38, of 115 Elm St. in Hagerstown was charged with first-degree murder; first-degree assault - a felony; and second-degree assault - a misdemeanor, according to Lehman and the news release.

A Georgia woman apprehended late last year in connection to a 1995 shooting death in Franklin County, Pa., pleaded not guilty to criminal homicide Wednesday. Tonya N. Dice, 39, is charged with criminal homicide and hindering apprehension or prosecution. On July 14, 1999, former magisterial district judge Larry K. Meminger issued an arrest warrant for Dice based on the Pennsylvania State Police investigation into the 1995 shooting death of Freddie Brumfield in Greene Township. A bench warrant had already been issued for Dice after she failed to appear in court in July 1995 in an unrelated drug case.

A Falling Waters, W.Va., man  wanted on allegations of soliciting a minor for sex in October 2012 was captured Thursday by the Mountain State Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service announced. Peter Stankiewicz, 29, was captured in Martinsburg through a joint effort by the Marshals Service, and Maryland and West Virginia state police, according to a news release. Authorities believed that the defendant fled to Salisbury, Md., shortly after the alleged criminal act occurred, according to the news release.

Myers Building Systems, a general construction company in Clear Spring, recently was honored by Varco Pruden Buildings, one of the nation's leading providers of steel building structures. Myers Building Systems' construction project, Blue Goose Bakery and Fruit Market at 557 E. Main St. in Hancock, was selected for Varco Pruden's 2013 Hall of Fame. The annual Hall of Fame accepts entries from authorized Varco Pruden builders throughout North America. Projects selected for the honor are chosen based on criteria including unique design, quality of construction and effective use of materials.

A former police officer and fire chief fatally shot his wife and wounded his stepson Tuesday evening before killing himself in a home east of Waynesboro, Pa., Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday. John Fleagle, 50, fatally shot his wife, Cathy, and himself with a handgun, police said in a news release. Fleagle also shot his stepson, 18-year-old Mitchell Robinson, in the arm, police said. No information was available regarding his condition. Law enforcement authorities said they were called to a home at 13878 Mar Penn Ave. near the intersection with Edgewood Drive shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday.

A heavily traveled bridge in Chambersburg will be closed for several months starting Aug. 13. The Pa. 316 (Wayne Avenue) bridge near Nitterhouse Concrete will be rehabilitated under a $1.86 million Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contract, according to a PennDOT news release. The bridge will be closed until February 2013, the news release stated. Traffic will be detoured using U.S. 11 and Orchard Drive at first, then the detour will use Garfield and Fourth streets.

Seven utility-terrain vehicles valued at more than $72,000 were taken from Antietam Tractor and Equipment on Leitersburg Pike, Maryland State Police said. The first incident occurred on April 21, when three Kubota UTVs were taken at night from the store at 20927 Leitersburg Pike near Hagerstown, police said in a news release. The vehicles were valued at more than $27,000. Four other Kubotas were taken on May 7, police said. But those vehicles, which were valued at more than $45,000, were found in a nearby wooded area.

Four more people have been arrested and charged in connection with a recent string of intentionally set fires in Washington and Frederick counties, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office announced Wednesday. Jacob Hess, 18, and Joshua Hess, 19, both of Clear Spring, as well as Sarah Couch, 18, and Brandy Sneider-Koontz, 19, both of Mercersburg, Pa., were being held at Washington County Detention Center on numerous arson-related charges, the fire marshal's office said in a news release.

The Borough of Chambersburg and an area business have been awarded state funding to purchase natural gas vehicles or convert existing vehicles to natural gas. The Borough of Chambersburg, along with project partners IESI Corp. and the Borough of Shippensburg, will receive $472,500 for the purchase or retrofit of 19 vehicles to operate on compressed natural gas. The vehicles include refuse and recycling trucks, a utility bucket truck, and an ambulance, according to a news release from state Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Franklin/Cumberland.

A man wanted by the West Virginia State Police on six counts of sexual abuse of a minor was arrested last month by members of the Mountain State Fugitive Task force, a deputy U.S. Marshal announced Friday. Donald Freedman Graham, 29, of Kearneysville, W.Va., was arrested Feb. 27 after task force members converged on a mobile home where he was located, according to a news release from deputy U.S. Marshal Jon LaLiberte. The case pending against Graham was investigated by State Police Trooper W.R. Garrett and LaLiberte said in the news that additional victims were identified and interviewed after the man's arrest.

A Hagerstown man was charged with first-degree murder in the death of a homeless man who was found Saturday with severe blunt-force trauma to his head, according to Hagerstown Police Department Sgt. John Lehman and a news release from the police department. Police know the identity of the homeless man, a 47-year-old man whose last known address was in Hagerstown, but were not releasing it Sunday because they had not been able to find his next of kin, Lehman said. David Allen Miller, 38, of 115 Elm St. in Hagerstown was charged with first-degree murder; first-degree assault - a felony; and second-degree assault - a misdemeanor, according to Lehman and the news release.

A Falling Waters, W.Va., man  wanted on allegations of soliciting a minor for sex in October 2012 was captured Thursday by the Mountain State Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service announced. Peter Stankiewicz, 29, was captured in Martinsburg through a joint effort by the Marshals Service, and Maryland and West Virginia state police, according to a news release. Authorities believed that the defendant fled to Salisbury, Md., shortly after the alleged criminal act occurred, according to the news release.

Seven utility-terrain vehicles valued at more than $72,000 were taken from Antietam Tractor and Equipment on Leitersburg Pike, Maryland State Police said. The first incident occurred on April 21, when three Kubota UTVs were taken at night from the store at 20927 Leitersburg Pike near Hagerstown, police said in a news release. The vehicles were valued at more than $27,000. Four other Kubotas were taken on May 7, police said. But those vehicles, which were valued at more than $45,000, were found in a nearby wooded area.

Givens first off the blocks to fill seat currently held by Myers Ray Givens, a Republican with a Hancock address, has filed to run in the 2014 elections for Subdistrict 1C, a seat current held by Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany. Myers announced that he will not seek re-election to the 1C seat. Givens is the first local candidate to file papers to run for a state lawmaker position in 2014. He is the legislative liaison for the Western Maryland Sportsmen's Coalition, a group with 21,000 members, and was seen frequently in the state house in Annapolis during the 2013 session of the Maryland General Assembly when Gov. Martin O'Malley's gun-control bill was being debated.

A man being treated Sunday morning at Meritus Medical Center for a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound was involved in an incident in Hagerstown's West End, according to a news release from the Hagerstown Police Department. The man was not identified in the news release. Police were dispatched to the area of West Side Avenue and Church Street at 1:49 a.m. Sunday for a report of shots fired, police said. While police were investigating the call, 911 dispatchers were notified of a man who arrived at Meritus Medical Center with a nonlife-threatening gunshot wound, police said.

Myers Building Systems, a general construction company in Clear Spring, recently was honored by Varco Pruden Buildings, one of the nation's leading providers of steel building structures. Myers Building Systems' construction project, Blue Goose Bakery and Fruit Market at 557 E. Main St. in Hancock, was selected for Varco Pruden's 2013 Hall of Fame. The annual Hall of Fame accepts entries from authorized Varco Pruden builders throughout North America. Projects selected for the honor are chosen based on criteria including unique design, quality of construction and effective use of materials.

A Chambersburg man was taken to York (Pa.) Hospital on Thursday night after he was struck by a vehicle at 1071 Wayne Ave. in Chambersburg, borough police said. Donald Eugene Barnhart Jr., 19, was attempting to cross Wayne Avenue at about 8 p.m. when he was struck by a northbound vehicle driven by Erik N. McDonald of Chambersburg, according to a Chambersburg Police Department news release Barnhart ran across the road in front of McDonald's 1999 Dodge truck and was struck by the vehicle, police said.

A federal judge Thursday sentenced a Hagerstown man to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of drug charges, according to prosecutors. After a three-day trial, Vincent Hernandez, 31, no address given, was convicted by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz of conspiring to distribute cocaine base, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug conspiracy and being a felon in possession of a gun, a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office...

An Alzheimer's patient who walked away from NMS Healthcare of Hagerstown on Marsh Pike on Tuesday was found, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. Eugene James Brown was taken to a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, according to a news release. Brown was listed in fair condition, the release said. Brown, who also suffers from depression and dementia, was last seen at NMS Healthcare at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Residents in the Reidtown Road area said they saw Brown walking in the neighborhood at about 11 a.m. and that he was headed toward Pennsylvania.

Motorists are advised to expect delays and to consider alternate routes due to flagging operations that are expected to take place on Old National Pike and Poffenberger Road Wednesday, State Highway Administration officials said Tuesday in a news release. Lane closures will begin at 6 a.m. and continue around the clock to allow crews to reconstruct a portion of Old National Pike to lower the crest of a hill several inches to improve sight distance, according to a news release. The work is expected to continue for up to two days, the release said.