Police Arrest Millcreek Man After Standoff
Erie – A man is in police custody after an armed standoff in Erie County Saturday evening. On Saturday evening at an apartment complex on Tree Top Drive in Millcreek Township, an armed standoff began between an unidentified man and police officers after a domestic dispute became violent. The woman he attacked managed to escape and call for help, starting a two-hour standoff that ended with members of the Millcreek SWAT Team using tear gas and a battering ram to force his surrender. Nobody was seriously injured and at press time no further details were revealed about the arrest.

Scammers Send Fake Turnpike Tolls
Harrisburg – Officials with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission are warning holiday travelers to look out for potential scams. The agency says some criminals have been trying to take advantage of people by sending fraudulent text messages saying the recipient owes tolls that were not properly paid. The commission says those texts are never legitimate, noting that they always request payments by mail only and include E-Z pass or license plate numbers. FBI investigators say these types of scams are common and tend to become more frequent during the holiday season.

Coroner Confident in ID of Body
Meadville – Authorities have still not identified a body pulled from a creek in Meadville in October. Crawford County Coroner Eric Coston recently told reporters that they may soon have an identity for a man found in French Creek on October 3rd, but are waiting for a DNA test; he is still waiting for toxicology results before making an official determination on the cause of death. The man was fully clothed with the exception of shoes and had been in the water for three to seven days when kayakers discovered his remains behind Meadville’s sewage treatment plant. Coston seemed confident that an identity would be confirmed by the end of December.

NTSB Reveals Explosion Investigation Results
West Reading – The National Transportation Safety Board has finally revealed its findings on the March 2023 explosion that killed seven employees of the RM Palmer Company in West Reading Pennsylvania. The NTSB investigation reveals that experts believe that a cracked steam valve and a defective gas pipe were the reason a basement beneath the factory floor filled with enough natural gas to explode, but did not find an ignition source. The findings place the blame on RM Palmer Company for not evacuating employees when the natural gas smell was apparent, and on the utility company UGI for using gas fittings known to be brittle and defective.