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Police Reports

These items have been collected from various police departments.

[naviga:h3]Butler Police[/naviga:h3]

9:19 p.m. Saturday — Robert D. Harbison Jr., 53, of Butler Township was arrested for driving under the influence on Fifth Avenue near Pillow Street. He was stopped, police said, because he had a headlight and a taillight that weren’t working.

Police smelled a “strong odor” of alcohol coming from Harbison, according to court documents, and he failed field sobriety tests. A breath test later showed his blood-alcohol was 0.087 percent. A level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated under state law.

In addition to DUI, Harbison is charged with two lighting violations.

[naviga:h3]Butler Twp Police[/naviga:h3]

9:07 p.m. Monday — Marina S. Zellonis, 46, of Bruin was arrested for felony shoplifting after she was caught allegedly trying to make off with merchandise valued at $294.97 at the Butler Commons’ Walmart.

Zellonis, who was already wanted on three arrest warrants in connection with unrelated shoplifting incidents, is charged with a felony count of retail theft. She was placed in the Butler County Prison on the warrants.

1:15 a.m. Saturday — Alfred H. Hurst, 54, of Penn Township was arrested for suspected drunken driving on Hansen Avenue near Randolph Street in Lyndora.

Police said they pulled over Hurst after they saw his car twice cross the center double yellow lines and nearly collide with oncoming traffic. He smelled of alcohol, according to court documents, and appeared to be intoxicated.

Officers found in his vehicle a plastic bottle that contained an alcoholic beverage. He failed one field sobriety test but refused any additional tests, police said, citing a previous back and leg injuries.

He also refused to submit to a blood test. Hurst is charged with driving under the influence, driving with an open container of alcohol and careless driving.

3:26 p.m. May 26 — Nicole T. Finucan, 32, was found with suspected drug contraband, including a syringe and spoon, after police were called for a disturbance at her apartment at Whitestown Village. She is charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

[naviga:h3]Cranberry Twp Police[/naviga:h3]

12:40 p.m. Thursday — A Georgia man was arrested after he allegedly passed two forged prescriptions at the Costco Pharmacy at Cranberry Square. The prescriptions were for promethazine with codeine and amoxicillin, which is a penicillin antibiotic.

Police later arrested the suspect, Walter L. Lewis, 54, of Stone Mountain, Ga., who was found with two additional fraudulent prescriptions for the same medication, according to court documents.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Lewis on four counts each of forgery and possessing instruments of a crime, two counts each of acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud and attempted acquisition of a controlled substance by fraud, and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail following arraignment.

[naviga:h3]Slippery Rock University Police[/naviga:h3]

Tuesday — Police charged a Cambria County woman with drugged driving in connection with a May 11 traffic stop on Rock Pride Drive.

The suspect, Molie E. Lough, 20, of Johnstown, was stopped near the Boozel Dining Hall loading dock after she failed to dim her high beams while passing an oncoming police car, according to court documents.

The arresting officer said he smelled a “strong odor” of marijuana in the car. He later found a baggie of suspected marijuana in the center console. Lough also told police that she had marijuana in her purse.

She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test. Toxicology reports subsequently confirmed she had marijuana in her system, documents said.

Lough is charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, and failing to use low beams.

[naviga:h3]Butler County Sheriff’s Office[/naviga:h3]

1:56 p.m. Thursday — A wanted man was arrested on a bench warrant at Penn’s Colony in Clinton Township but not before he tried to make a getaway from deputies.

One of the deputies fired a Taser at the fleeing suspect, Thomas J. Martin, 51, of Clinton Township, but missed. Martin a short time later, stopped running and gave up, according to court documents.

Deputies went looking for Martin at Penn’s Colony’s where he was working. A search later turned up suspected marijuana and contraband in his pocket.

District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned him on charges of resisting arrest, and possession of a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. He was placed in the Butler County Prison on $2,500 bail following arraignment.

[naviga:h3]State Police, Butler[/naviga:h3]

4:57 p.m. Wednesday — A car driven by Regina M. Zajac, 60, of Portersville and a pickup truck driven by Aaron G. Hertzog, 40, of Slippery Rock collided on Interstate 79 just north of Sawyer Road in Muddy Creek Township.

Hertzog lost control of his pickup after the collision, and the truck overturned onto its side in the median. Police cited Zajac for disregarding traffic lanes.

Monday — Jody Lynn Wilson, 48, of Prospect was charged with altering a $250 check that was written to her April 12 and cashing it for $1,250 at a Franklin Township bank. She is charged with forgery, a felony.

May 25 — Police charged Tina Mae Budner, 46, of Winfield Township with drugged driving stemming from an April crash in Clinton Township. The one-vehicle wreck happened about 2:20 p.m. April 7 on Victory Road just south of Dinnerbell Road.

Budner blamed the crash on a deer that crossed the road and caused her to swerve, according to court documents. The rental car she was driving struck a tree.

Police said that while talking to Budner they suspected she was impaired. A drug recognition expert subsequently evaluated her, and determined she was under the influence of drugs.

She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood test, which eventually showed she had the prescription drug gabapentin, marijuana and opioid medication in her system, documents said.

Budner is charged with driving under the influence of a controlled substance, failing to keep right, driving at an unsafe speed and careless driving.

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