Published: November 04, 2009 09:55 pm      

IN BRIEF | Judge dismisses last defendants in fire suit

EBENSBURG – A judge has dismissed the two remaining defendants in a civil lawsuit stemming from a 2005 house fire in Hastings in which four people died.

A trial had been set to open with jury selection today but was called off Wednesday after Judge Norman Krumenacker dismissed the last two defendants.

In a split 2-1 decision, county judges earlier had ruled that Penelec – which had cut off service to the house less than a week before the fire – and a company that made calls to uti-lity customers about delinquent bills could not be held liable.

That decision left two defendants in the civil lawsuit – David Gunther, owner of the rental property, and John Sexton, who was living in the house.

Sexton escaped from the burning structure, but his fiancee, her grandson and two girls died in the blaze.

Authorities said the fire was started by a candle left burning in a bathroom near some towels and toilet paper.

Because attorneys for the victims plan to appeal the judges’ decision to drop Penelec and the other company, Krumenacker agreed to discontinue the case against Gunther and Sexton “without prejudice,” meaning they can be brought back in if an appeals court overturns the county court decision.



Somerset judge wins retention vote

SOMERSET – President Judge John M. Cascio easily won another 10-year term on the county bench Tuesday, with voters overwhelmingly voting “yes” in his retention election.

With all 68 precincts reporting, the tally showed 10,772 “yes” votes - or 79 percent in favor of his retention, and 2,899 “no” votes, or 21 percent.

Cascio, 63, was appointed to the bench in February 1988 to fill a vacancy, then elected to his first full term in 1989 and retained in 1999.



Fayette County elects first female judge

UNIONTOWN – Fayette County voters have apparently elected their first female Common Pleas judge.

District Attorney Nancy Vernon, a Democrat, apparently won a Common Pleas seat over Republican lawyer Ernest DeHaas III. She was leading

54 percent to 46 percent with 95 of 98 precincts reporting.

The 54-year-old Vernon was the first woman to practice law in the county and its first female district attorney.



Defense seeks to bar death penalty

INDIANA – Defense attorneys said a 19-year-old man charged with fatally beating his girlfriend’s toddler shouldn’t be executed because tests show the man is mentally disabled.

State police say Joshua Turner of Black Lick told them he beat 19-month-old Leonard McIntire after the child bit Turner’s finger because he “wanted (Leonard) to know what pain felt like.”

Indiana County District Attorney Thomas Bianco said the victim’s age is one reason why he’s pursuing the death penalty if Turner is convicted of first-degree murder in the beating October 2008.

But Turner’s attorneys say a psychologist last year determined Turner has mental disabilities and limitations that would prevent his being executed under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision.



Divorced man wants ex to change name

CRESSON – Following an apparently bitter divorce, a Cresson man is asking a federal court to order his ex-wife and her preteen son to change their last name so it’s not the same as his.

Justin M. Hickox of the 400 block of Third Street, Cresson, is suing Wanda Jean Hickox of Port Matilda in U.S. District Court in Johnstown.

He contends both mother and child damaged his reputation in 2008 by claiming he abused the boy.

Centre County Children & Youth Services investigated and cleared him, Hickox said.

Hickox, a bus driver for the Tyrone Area School District, was granted a divorce in May.

He claims his former wife damaged his reputation and is seeking $80,000.

He also wants his ex-wife to change her last name and that of her son because “he no longer wishes them to have it.”

A phone listing for Wanda Hickox could not be found.