Election judge accused of taking off with voting equipment
Election judge accused of taking off with voting equipment
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a local judge of elections was arrested after allegedly failing to show up to the polls Tuesday and instead deciding to work as a jitney driver for the day.
The Allegheny County sheriff’s office says 55-year-old Darrin Farmer of North Versailles never came to the North Versailles precinct with voting equipment, delaying poll opening by three hours.
Authorities say his wife said he dropped her off at a store to buy refreshments for volunteers but then left. They allege he decided to spend the day giving rides for money.
Farmer faces charges including tampering with public records and obstructing a government function; a listed number for him couldn’t be found and it’s unclear whether he has an attorney who could respond to the charges.
Police: Man used rope ladder to burglarize supermarket
CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — State police have arrested a man on charges he broke into a Pennsylvania supermarket using a rope ladder — then claimed to merely be sleeping on the store’s roof when he was caught.
Forty-eight-year-old Thomas Beal is in the Fayette County Booking Center awaiting arraignment on burglary, criminal trespass and other charges.
Troopers say a security guard inside Peachin’s Supermarket in Dunbar Township called police early Tuesday when he saw Beal enter the store through an air-conditioning vent and lower himself with the ladder.
Troopers surrounded the building shortly after 3 a.m. and went onto the roof where they found Beal, who claimed to be sleeping.
Online court records don’t list an attorney for Beal.