A McKeesport man convicted of third-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a teen asked a Washington County judge for leniency but she instead imposed a tougher sentence after saying he showed “limited expression of remorse,” along with his prior history of gun violence During his sentencing hearing Wednesday morning at the Washington County Courthouse Jamil Marquise Carr did not apologize to the family of Antonio Martinez who he shot dead following a fistfight in Washington in July 2022 but rather tried to make a legal argument about his sentence and why he should be granted a new trial I’m not a monster like he’s making me out to be,” Carr said about a pre-sentence investigation report delivered to Judge Valarie Costanzo before the hearing I’m asking you to make an ethical decision for leniency with the facts surrounding the case.” But Deputy District Attorney John Friedmann said it was exactly who Carr was by the simple fact of his history of gun violence and how a jury convicted him of third-degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm during a two-day trial in February Carr brought a gun to a fistfight,” Friedmann said asked for “extraordinary relief” by requesting a new trial over his claims that key witness Glendale Smith’s antics on the witness stand and how Smith was forced to testify against his will may have tainted the trial It appears that Carr had little to say in court because he is planning to appeal his conviction and did not want statements of guilt on the record But Costanzo promptly denied the request for a new trial and then went above the standard range when she sentenced Carr to serve 27½ to 60 years in a state prison for killing Martinez Carr and Martinez were at a party at the Jollick Manor housing complex in the city July 15 who responded by pulling out a handgun and fired twice Martinez’s family members spoke about how his death has affected them described what it was like to get “that dreaded early-morning phone call” notifying them of his death and how he had to deliver the news to the victim’s younger brother “How do you soften the blow to an 11-year-old that his brother has been murdered?” Vecchione said “That phone call changed our lives.” He then called Carr a “coward” and looked directly at the defendant raising his voice as he spoke from the witness stand his voice booming louder and louder with every word sobbed while speaking about her son and said she cried nearly nonstop for three or four days after his death She added that her life has been on “autopilot” ever since and that she thought that if she suffered it might ease the pain her son felt in his last moments “I never thought my son would be murdered To hear the words ‘he’s gone’ from my father was like getting hit by a Mack truck at 100 miles per hour,” she said I still feel there is a dagger stabbing me in the heart.” said Carr took someone special from him and stopped short of forgiving his son’s killer “It’s not for me to forgive you That’s (God’s) decision to forgive you,” Cruz said “But I really hope you find peace in your life Not a day goes by where I don’t think of my son.” Costanzo called the victim impact statements from Martinez’s family “heart-wrenching” while also noting Carr’s “limited expression of remorse” when given the chance to speak “There is no greater grief than the loss of a child,” Costanzo said of Martinez’s death Carr has been jailed without bond since his arrest two weeks after the shooting he was led away by sheriff’s deputies to the Washington County jail before he is eventually transferred to a state prison If you have an account and are registered for online access sign in with your email address and password below Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe Copyright © Observer-Reporter | Contact | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Dan DeRose coaches Penn Hills during a PIAA Class 5A playoff game against Obama Academy on March 6, 2020, at Brashear High School. but the Tigers hired a new coach with one already on his resume was hired Thursday night by the McKeesport School Board DeRose also had WPIAL coaching stints at South Park McKeesport went 7-15 this past season and 5-19 last year yet DeRose said he sees a program with potential “It’s very similar to Penn Hills,” said DeRose whose teams at times shared a section with McKeesport “There were a number of years when I was at Penn Hills that I thought they were more talented than us In five years at Penn Hills, DeRose’s teams averaged 20 wins per season, reached the playoffs five times and won the WPIAL Class 6A title in 2018 “He has championship-caliber experience,” McKeesport athletic director Charley Kiss said He’ll demand accountability and discipline throughout the program.” Kiss said DeRose’s success with a similarly situated team — Penn Hills — was enticing for McKeesport “If he has even half the success he had there he’ll have a good run,” Kiss said McKeesport reached the WPIAL playoffs in 2023 before finishing 1-9 in the section last season and 4-10 this year McKeesport has won four WPIAL boys basketball titles DeRose said he has an affinity for schools hungry to find success “Their thoughts are they’re sick of losing,” DeRose said seven years in a row not making the playoffs “That’s kind of been my thing.” DeRose coached South Park to a 16-6 record and a WPIAL playoff berth in 2014-15 he went 16-7 and won the Section 1-6A title in one season at North Allegheny He takes over a McKeesport team that’s gone five years without a winning season “I’ve always been the kind of guy that loves to give school districts or teams some joy,” he said “(Give them) something they haven’t been able to be excited about for a long time.” DeRose stepped in as coach in November and led the Cougars to a playoff berth DeRose coached college basketball for more than a decade including a six-year run at the Community College of Beaver County from 2003-09 He went 139-45 and won a conference title each year In his one season at North Allegheny, a halftime altercation at Fox Chapel led to summary charges later dismissed on appeal. In response, he filed a lawsuit against the Fox Chapel Area School District and several employees. He also had stints as coach at Penn State McKeesport (2000-01) and Chowan University (2010-12), an NCAA Division II school in North Carolina. “I’m going to meet with the team on Monday,” DeRose said. “I told them I want to get started ASAP.” If Javascript is disabled browser, to place orders please visit the page where our photos are available to purchase TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need Shaylah Brown is a TribLive reporter covering art, culture and communities of color. A New Jersey native, she joined the Trib in 2023. When she's not working, Shaylah dives into the worlds of art, wellness and the latest romance novels. She can be reached at sbrown@triblive.com Stay up-to-date on important news from TribLIVE 1-800-909-8742 © 2025 Trib Total Media | All Rights Reserved About Us Advertise Career Opportunities Contact Advertising Contact Circulation Contact Newsroom Contact Us Feedback Request Correction Resource Center Scholarship Opportunities Send Letter to the Editor Send News Tip Subscribe Subscriber Services Blog eFeatures Email Newsletters eTrib Facebook Home Delivery Instagram LinkedIn Marketing Minute Store Locations TribLIVE App - App Store TribLIVE App - Google Play X (formerly Twitter) Arts & Entertainment Best of the Best Business Directory Circulars Contests Coronavirus Lifestyles Local News YaJagOff Obituaries Opinion Our Publications Photos Real Estate Sports Video Weather Cookie Settings Privacy Policy Terms of Service Pennsylvania's special election Tuesday will determine whether Democrats or Republicans will control the state House a glimpse of voter sentiment in the swing state that helped return President Donald Trump to the White House But the race between McKeesport Democrat Dan Goughnour and White Oak Republican Chuck Davis has been in many ways a low-key affair while a Republican flip would enable the GOP to pick a different speaker control the voting schedule and install their own members as committee chairs a police officer who supervises detectives and serves on the school board in McKeesport a fire chief who also serves as president of the White Oak Borough Council Libertarian Adam Kitta is also on the ballot Goughnour and Davis both stress public-safety concerns including the need to provide more state support for EMS services that are struggling in the district and in many other parts of the state Goughnour also emphasizes a need for state support of education "My time on the school board for the last three years has opened my eyes to how crucial .. is making sure that we're receiving the funding And it's also got to be fair." Districts like McKeesport he worries are losing millions of dollars a year to support charter schools "That's a pretty substantial portion of the pie that we get." Davis says he worries about infrastructure concerns including bridges in McKeesport that have been closed due to their poor condition "They've had a lot of state representatives coming out of McKeesport He also said he's motivated by a desire to "bring some common sense into Harrisburg." He said he's been concerned about policies that have allowed transgender athletes to compete in sports leagues based on the gender they identify with "Women fought long and hard for their own sports Davis was selected quietly as the GOP nominee by a select group of party leaders. Goughnour was chosen from a field of six Democrats in an open vote of party committee members He likened the whirlwind process of meeting those officials to being "thrown in the deep end without a life ring But the party has rallied behind him, with national Democrats taking an unusual interest in the race. Goughnour has been endorsed by Barack Obama's former attorney general, Eric Holder, who ordinarily doesn't weigh in on such contests. And in a visit to the district last month Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said a Goughnour victory "sends a signal to Democrats around the country that we’re willing to fight for our values at every single level." The party arguably needs such a signal: Pennsylvania Democrats lost a U.S Senate seat and all three row offices — treasurer attorney general and auditor general — in the November election along with giving Trump a slim majority of the state’s votes Davis has drawn some party support of his own A "get out the vote" rally Friday evening will feature state Senator and Pennsylvania Republican Chairman Greg Rothman "It’s a tie-breaking seat so both sides want to jump on it." Davis said “You can say it’s on my shoulders to gain conservative control but it doesn’t weigh on me much," he added District voter registration tilts strongly toward Democrats but voters "are usually Democratic because that’s what their parents are," But it would be a seismic upset for Republicans to flip the district after it went for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump in November Gergely won it with 75% of the vote in a special election in 2023 and Republicans did not field a candidate against him last fall Democrat Josh Shapiro also won three-quarters of the district's vote House Democratic Campaign Committee executive director Madeline Zann said she senses some increased enthusiasm among volunteers and small-dollar donors that may be prompted by concerns about the Trump administration She said the candidates will have to focus on issues closer to home and getting core supporters to vote since many people ignore special elections “It’s a turnout election in many ways,” Zann said who leads campaigns for the Republican caucus in the state House said Davis is in an uphill fight in the 35th calling it a “strong-leaning Democratic district.” But he said new local GOP leadership has energized Republican voters “No matter who looks good on paper you’ve got to have the election,” Barton said Allegheny County's newly installed Republican Party chair Jason Richey has said the race offers an early chance for the party to flex its muscles Another special election on Tuesday will determine who fills the state Senate seat that Ryan Aument Republican Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons is running against Democrat James Andrew Malone A win by Malone in the Republican-leaning district would not threaten the GOP state Senate majority The third candidate is Libertarian Zachary Moore Have a tip for the WESA newsroom? Email news@wesa.fm. Captains from McKeesport and Belle Vernon meet at midfield before their playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. but he secretly was fretting about his son’s physical condition following the Tigers’ bone-jarring first-round playoff victory over Belle Vernon “He’s a tough kid,” Miller said of his namesake who injured his hand badly enough to be taken for treatment but now I’ve got to be his dad.” but he’d hoped the injury — a broken thumb made worse by a nasty cut from when his hand was stepped on during the game’s final play — wouldn’t be too devastating “It was pretty physical out there,” the elder Miller said Sophomore sensation Kemon Spell rushed for a career-high 277 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead McKeesport to a punishing 34-11 victory over visiting Belle Vernon in a first-round WPIAL Class 4A playoff game at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium the Tigers’ sixth consecutive triumph 7 Mars (6-5) in the semifinals Friday night at a site to be determined on Eric Kasparowicz’s sixth second-half touchdown in the closing seconds stay healthy and get ready for next week’s game.” The health of a number of players was on the minds of both teams with each losing several players throughout the game Belle Vernon quarterback Curtis Wade was harassed all night by the McKeesport defense and took a nasty hit in the first half stopping play for several minutes while he lay on the turf before being helped off Wade recovered enough to return but appeared to be in pain He finished 8 for 13 for 77 yards passing and totaled minus-10 yards rushing “Very physical game,” said Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert who led the Leopards to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A championships the past two seasons before No 6 Belle Vernon (4-5) stepped up in class this season It was a little bit of a humbling approach this year And they’ll realize the body of work that they put out there.” gained 210 first-half yards as McKeesport built a a 20-3 lead The early dominance was capped by the 5-foot-9 185-pound back’s 65-yard touchdown run with 1 minute 33 seconds remaining in the second quarter The score came after Belle Vernon’s Preston Rathway booted a 41-yard field goal to give the Leopards some short-lived momentum “He’s an amazing talent,” Miller said Kemon is able to make chicken salad out of … you know.” Spell missed a portion of preseason training camp with an injury and started the season slowly we stayed calm and got back into it at the end of the season,” Spell said “He’s a stud,” Humbert said “The thing you say to the kids is just ‘this is part of life,’ ” he said “You’re going to have great moments We’ve had too many obstacles this year and we haven’t been able to overcome many of them You’ve just got to deal with the hand It’s a bad taste in your mouth.” also scored a third-quarter touchdown on a 5-yard run “I’m looking to add more next week against a good team and that’s pretty much it,” he said McKeesport led 9-0 after the first quarter coupling a safety with quarterback Brady Eastman’s 1-yard keeper Ian Shiffler’s 24-yard field goal boosted the Tigers’ margin to 12-0 in the second before Rathway matched it with his 41-yarder to cut the Belle Vernon deficit to nine That’s when Spell broke free and raced into the end zone on one of his several long runs I’ll go into rehab and be back next week.” Kole Doppelheuer’s 2-yard touchdown run for Belle Vernon cut the McKeesport lead to 27-11 in the fourth quarter before Anthony Boyd raced 34 yards for a touchdown for the Tigers’ final score outgaining Belle Vernon in total yards 429-107 but obviously putting points on the board and stopping them for the most part it worked out pretty well,” Miller said Director of the McKeesport Community Newsroom Martha Rial has been a working photo journalist for nearly 40 years “20 of those years were at daily newspapers,” Rial said so when an opportunity came up to manage this community newsroom in McKeesport in 2018 “We help adults and teens tell their story Our goal is to share untold stories of the McKeesport area and also to empower people of all ages and backgrounds to gain the confidence they need to share their work “Which is exactly what she's been doing with the McKeesport Red and Blue newspaper,” said McKeesport Area High School junior Nie’Zhay Jefferson Jefferson has been working with Rial through her school newspaper and also through the McKeesport Community Newsroom’s Tube City Writers — a group that meets once a month at Carnegie Free Library no prior registration is required and sessions are open to all ages and experience levels “The McKeesport Community Newsroom is an umbrella organization,” Rial explained “I work with anyone who wants to tell a story I've worked with people as young as 14 and as old as 80 Rial also leads a photography group called the Mon Valley Photography Collective that photographs events “It's so fun,” said McKeesport high school senior “Just being a part of a program like this where you get to have different experiences and get to go different places — it's very enjoyable just to get to see different things and also like build your experience.” “One of my favorite experiences working with Ms Martha was when we went to the Blue Pavilion in Renzee,” said high school senior Katie Odenthal recalling the opportunity to interview community members about their experiences living in McKeesport “They would all answer almost the same way — that McKeesport is not as bad as people make it out to be and we have a strong sense of community that people don't realize.” students recalled field trips to the state capital in Harrisburg and the chance to write and publicly share poetry at an annual event called Tube City Writers Live The community newsroom is also collaborating with the high school newspaper group to create a podcast It's going to be hard to say goodbye to some of the seniors this year,” Rial said “Going to the high school is one of the best parts of my week I'm in the final years of my career and I can't think of a better way to wind down than to spend it with the people at McKeesport.” Have a tip for the WESA newsroom? Email news@wesa.fm The Democratic National Committee’s newly elected chairman where he argued that the path to redemption — and perhaps to the White House — leads through McKeesport “People say the Democratic Party is dead” after the dismal 2024 elections Martin told a room full of Democratic party leaders and volunteers gathered to help state House candidate Dan Goughnour Democrats have “got themselves back into this fight and they realized that the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been," he said And that went for McKeesport and Pennsylvania's 35th House District, where a special election is underway to replace the late Matt Gergely a McKeesport police officer and school board member is vying for the seat against Republican Charles Davis In the balance hangs control of the state House, which has been left deadlocked since Gergely’s death. That was one reason Martin, who became the Democrats’ national party chair just three weeks ago The other was to show a renewed commitment to grassroots political activism of the kind many say is long overdue “Sending Dan to Harrisburg isn’t just about what it means for this community,” Martin said It sends a signal to Democrats around the country that we’re willing to fight for our values at every single level.” “It is just an honor that somebody from the national level is recognizing a local race like this,” he told reporters “It shows us how committed he is to his party.” who joined Goughnour to knock on some doors after the mid-afternoon rally argued that Democrats also needed to keep the larger battle in mind With Donald Trump making gains among working-class voters and others long thought to be part of the Democratic base Democrats have arguably been focusing on an ever-narrower swath of swing districts and states Martin has been blunt in acknowledging the challenge “Our party can’t just be a party focused on seven battleground states and a few Congressional seats,” Martin said “The way we win back working people is making sure that we’re competing and contesting every single race up and down the ballot.” It remains to be seen how well the party coalesces after November’s crushing losses Democrats find themselves in the minority in both houses of Congress as well as the White House their candidates were swept in four statewide races In the wake of that thumping, some Democrats have argued that the party needs a wholesale thinking of its policy stances: Some left-leaning activists, meanwhile, have expressed mounting impatience with leaders who have either shown a willingness to work with Trump or a desire to avoid direct confrontation until the climate changes Martin put himself squarely in the camp of those willing to take the fight to Republicans “When the stakes are so high for the American people,” he told reporters “I don’t know in the hell we believe that people are going to put us back in power if we’re not willing to fight for them right now at this moment when the stakes are so high.” Martin is hardly the first Democratic party leader to pledge to expand the electoral map and carry the party’s message to areas that have turned red. DNC leaders made similar pledges 20 years ago But last year, the committee began putting some money where its mouth was, making investments in the party apparatus at the state level to help down-ballot races And in an otherwise dismal November election Democrats managed to hold their own in contests for the U.S and in state legislative battles in Pennsylvania and elsewhere Party leaders saw those results as proof of the wisdom of looking down-ballot — and also as a sign that it was time to address longstanding grievances that the DNC was too focused on national elections and not sufficiently engaged in off-year party building When asked what would be different about the DNC’s efforts under his watch Martin pointed to the McKeesport visit itself “I’ll be spending a lot of time on the road and the first place I visited is Western Pennsylvania That should signify to people that our party is not going to cede any ground to the Republicans.” He chose friendly ground for his down-ballot foray: His bid for the DNC chair was warmly supported by the Pennsylvania delegation early in the race and one of his party's three vice chairs is Pennsylvania state House member Malcolm Kenyatta who was also on hand for Tuesday’s door-knocking event And while Democrats have seen their registration advantage erode statewide they enjoy a two-to-one edge in the 35th District Kenyatta praised Martin for taking the fight down-ballot of the Democratic Party for this entire country and one of his first stops is to be with somebody who’s running for state representative,” Kenyatta told attendees “This is a person who understands that if we want to win close races nationally it starts with winning those important races locally.” Goughnour’s special election will be held March 25 and that contest may get a bit more attention than usual This website is unavailable in your location It appears you are attempting to access this website from a country outside of the United States therefore access cannot be granted at this time A former McKeesport police captain is charged with stealing more than $260,000 from the department’s evidence room following a months-long investigation of McKeesport was charged Wednesday with theft and receiving stolen property and immediately waived his case to Allegheny County Common Pleas Court He was released on $50,000 unsecured bond by Magistrate Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr A message left with his attorney was not immediately returned McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said in a statement that “no one is above the law.” “It is extremely disheartening that a once-trusted supervisor within this police department was capable of violating his oath to protect and serve by participating in the activities that have been alleged,” Cherepko said “We have instituted an entirely new process with policies and procedures that will not only modernize our evidence logs and safety measures recommended by experts in this field.” According to the criminal complaint in the case Halaszynski stole a total of $260,280.27 in cash over a period of four years which are now considered to be compromised Halaszynski is the third McKeesport officer to face criminal charges in the last several months According to the criminal complaint filed against Halaszynski, McKeesport police Chief Mark Steele asked the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office to investigate potential theft from the department’s evidence room in September Steele said he was supposed to meet with Halaszynski who had been in charge of the evidence room for eight years but the captain called off that day and the rest of the week Halaszynski was found unresponsive in a police car after a suspected suicide attempt reported that he found an envelope taken as evidence in a case that should have contained $383 to be empty Steele and Halaszynski were the only two officers to have access to the evidence room Halaszynski said that he had been in charge of the evidence room from 2018 until late 2020 with no problems he told them he struggled to keep up with his finances “It was around this time that he first took money from the evidence room with the intention to return it,” the complaint said was from an envelope on the evidence room shelves with several thousand dollars in it Halaszynski told investigators the evidence room was in disarray when he took over He found evidence in drawers like a card catalog dating back several years He told investigators he first stole money from those cases Halaszynski reported taking a couple thousand dollars at a time He then told investigators that he likely shredded the envelopes Halaszynski recalled one DANET case in which officers had seized $40,000 to $60,000 He found the bag on the floor of the evidence room Halaszynski told investigators the drugs should still be there Halaszynski told investigators that at first he used the money to pay bills but later used it to go on trips at Christmas time “He stated that he did not buy new cars or real estate and that he has ‘nothing to show for everything I’ve took.’” investigators and analysts from the DA’s investigations unit conducted a review of all six evidence rooms envelopes that should have contained cash were completely empty he made 192 cash deposits totaling $189,430.20 Former Officer Joseph Osinski was charged by the state Attorney General’s office in September with theft theft by deception and access device fraud for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from the police union where he served as the financial officers who had left McKeesport to become an agent with the state AG’s office was accused of stealing $121,000 from the AG’s North Huntingdon office the same day University of Pittsburgh criminal law Professor David A Harris said that it is unlikely the evidence room thefts will impact any closed cases — or even open ones it is logged in as part of the chain of custody It’s rare that it would be part of the actual evidence presented in a trial that attorneys won’t attempt to raise the theft of the cash to defend their clients you look for any possible argument you might have,” Harris said can impact the public’s view on a department It’s not necessarily an indictment of the whole department but this is enough of a red flag you want to examine the culture,” Harris said “The public can’t help but look at the officers and question: Is this guy on the take A kindergarten student was injured Tuesday afternoon after being hit by a school bus McKeesport Area School District officials said Police and emergency services were dispatched to the corner of Soles and Stewart streets in McKeesport around 3:45 p.m., Superintendent Don MacFann wrote in a statement posted on the district’s website The student was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of a concussion and received six stitches behind their left ear “I’m rather new to McKeesport,” said MacFann “but I am just totally pleased with how the McKeesport Police Department the McKeesport ambulance services and district police officers were there immediately Quincey Reese is a TribLive reporter covering the Greensburg and Hempfield areas. She also does reporting for the Penn-Trafford Star. A Penn Township native, she joined the Trib in 2023 after working as a Jim Borden Scholarship intern at the company for two summers. She can be reached at qreese@triblive.com A former McKeesport police captain has been charged after a monthslong investigation with stealing more than $260,000 from the department’s evidence room He was released on $50,000 unsecured bond by District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said in a statement that “no one is above the law.” “It is extremely disheartening that a once-trusted supervisor within this police department was capable of violating his oath to protect and serve by participating in the activities that have been alleged,” Cherepko said “We have instituted an entirely new process with policies and procedures that will not only modernize our evidence logs and safety measures recommended by experts in this field.” Halaszynski stole a total of $260,280.27 in cash over four years McKeesport police Chief Mark Steele asked the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office to investigate potential theft from the department’s evidence room in September reported he found an envelope taken as evidence in a case that was empty when it should have contained $383 “It was around this time that he first took money from the evidence room with the intention to return it,” the complaint said “he just got ‘selfish and greedy and it became easy,’” according to the complaint Halaszynski recalled one narcotics case in which officers had seized $40,000 to $60,000 in a soft cooler bag but later used it to go on trips at Christmastime “He stated that he did not buy new cars or real estate and that he has ‘nothing to show for everything I’ve took.’” investigators and analysts from the DA’s investigations unit conducted a review of all six evidence rooms According to Halaszynski’s bank records Former Officer Joseph Osinski was charged by the state Attorney General’s Office in September with theft theft by deception and access device fraud for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from the police union where he served as the financial officer who had left McKeesport to become an agent with the state AG’s office was accused of stealing $121,000 from the office’s AG’s North Huntingdon office the same day Harris said that it is unlikely the evidence room thefts will impact any closed cases — or even open ones it is logged in as part of the chain of custody and simply remains in the evidence room It’s rare that it would be part of the actual evidence presented in a trial that attorneys won’t attempt to raise the theft of the cash to defend their clients you look for any possible argument you might have,” Harris said can impact the public’s view of a department It’s not necessarily an indictment of the whole department but this is enough of a red flag you want to examine the culture,” Harris said “The public can’t help but look at the officers and question: Is this guy on the take Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com McKeesport’s Anthony Cromerdie breaks away from the Belle Vernon defense on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. McKeesport’s Kemon Spell eludes Belle Vernon’s Jackson Alexander on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. Playing their first home game of the season the Tigers were 0-3 coming in with a double-overtime loss against Lake (Ohio) a blowout loss to Class 5A Peters Township and an overtime loss to rival Thomas Jefferson after losing a 21-point halftime lead and it showed in a 28-7 victory where it dictated the majority of the game in the trenches “I think we’re just maturing,” McKeesport coach Matt Miller said and when we can get them the ball and create some space for them including 276 through their top three rushers Kemon Spell posted 150 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries Anthony Cromerdie took eight carries for 63 yards and a score and Anthony Boyd added 63 yards on nine rushes to lead the ground game whom coach Matt Humbert admitted are still young there were no excuses after the tough loss “We’re young and we’re banged up but we’re not going to let that be the catalyst of our woes,” he said “We’re trying to grow week to week and we just have to keep moving forward because even though that youth was on full display (in a 23-17 win over Central Valley) last week I thought we were able to overcome some things and show out But that McKeesport team is a good football team Belle Vernon’s offense managed 44 yards in the first half and 54 more in the second to finish with 98 total The Leopards drove fewer than 20 yards to score their touchdown late in the game after a fumble from McKeesport backup quarterback Matthew Miller “We have to get back to the basic things that we do especially offensively,” Humbert said “There’s just no excuse to have the underproduction that we did tonight (QB) Curty (Wade) does everything that you ask him to do He’s a good leader and a good field general We just have to get some things solidified The Leopards had their third-biggest play of the contest — a 12-yard slant to Kole Doppelheuer — on the first offensive snap of the game But Preston Rathway was called upon to punt and McKeesport went to work with its potent rushing attack The Tigers had gains of 8 and 7 yards before the Leopards cut it down to shorter gains but McKeesport managed to keep its opening drive going with a keeper from quarterback Brady Eastman on fourth-and-1 in BVA territory Boyd had a 33-yard carry en route to a scoring drive as Eastman kept the ball on the triple option and pitched it to Cromerdie An Ian Shiffler extra point made the score 7-0 with 1:57 left in the first quarter Belle Vernon’s offense centered around Doppelheuer and Anthony Crews getting the ball from Wade it was all McKeesport dictating the game up front and it allowed the Tigers to shut the Leopards down Doppelheuer gave the Leopards some life with a big defensive play and the score was still 7-0 when the senior picked off a pass to set Belle Vernon up with good field position the Leopards were unable to take advantage when they found themselves facing fourth-and-1 and a high snap forced them to fall on the ball with Cromerdie taking a pitch 22 yards and being tackled by the facemask The 15-yard penalty set up Spell’s first score of the night from 17 yards away to make it 14-0 After a three-and-out from both sides to open the second half Spell broke the game open with a 71-yard scamper that made it 21-0 in favor of McKeesport with 7:30 left in the third quarter Things went from bad to worse for BVA on the ensuing drive after Spell’s long score A play after Wade almost had a pass intercepted Boyd picked him off to give the Tigers the ball at Belle Vernon’s 45-yard line The Tigers didn’t cash in on the turnover They didn’t add to their lead until there was 7:09 to play as Spell found paydirt from 20 yards to make it 28-0 in favor of the home Tigers but Rathway crushed a 58-yard punt to push McKeesport deep in their own territory Rathway flipping the field ended up allowing the Leopards to score their touchdown as they fell on a fumble from Miller at quarterback before Doppelheuer caught an 11-yard strike and then ran in from 7 yards to cap the scoring McKeesport faces another stiff challenge next week when it hosts Class 5A Upper St but it certainly felt good for the Tigers to get that first win “I think the enjoyment from this one carries over to the week of practice and I think we’re heading in the right direction,” Miller said I think we’ll keep getting better.” Belle Vernon hosts a Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference foe in South Fayette (4-0) “We’re not going to sit around and whine because that’s a good football team regardless of their record,” Humbert said “We just have to get back to work and keep preparing because this is all working towards conference play.” A Black McKeesport police officer is suing his employer and the city’s mayor over claims of racial discrimination in how the police department promotes and disciplines alleges the city has long ignored its own civil service rules resulting in mostly white officers being promoted by the mayor conduct service testing or interview candidates who joined the force as a part-time officer in 2009 and became full-time in 2014 filed Friday in federal court in Pittsburgh include the City of McKeesport and Mayor Michael Cherepko Jason Elash declined comment because of pending litigation but said the city “vehemently” denies the allegations Cherepko said the city deserves the chance to defend itself from what he called false accusations There is absolutely no truth to any of these allegations whatsoever; however whose own conduct is unbecoming of a police officer.” Thomas detailed multiple instances in which he said the city violated its own policies on promotion and ignored requirements for civil service testing The lawsuit alleges that all promotions to positions of rank — outside of chief — are to be conducted through the McKeesport Civil Service Commission The three highest-ranking candidates are to be presented to the mayor for selection public notice is to be provided that positions are available and civil service testing will be conducted from the time he was hired through at least December 2023 conduct civil service testing or interview candidates Thomas claims that since Cherepko took office in 2011 he promoted 13 patrol officers to positions of rank Only one Black officer was promoted to detective The lawsuit does not say how many Black officers work in the department and the mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a question from TribLive about the number the lawsuit said the city and police union resolved a grievance in which the city agreed to follow the civil service rules for promotion the city had promoted four white officers without posting the positions That same month, Thomas filed a grievance against the city. A month later, he filed a written statement for another Black officer, Candace Tyler, who also sued for race and gender discrimination he wrote: “The department has a long history of unfairly holding back women and minorities from training and promotional opportunities which this officer would gladly provide should it be requested.” The mayor told Thomas that before December “he had a ‘decent shot’ of promotion in the future,” but didn’t know if that was still the case in light of the grievance Thomas filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination complaint against the city a month later An incident six months after that led to another filing with the commission the lawsuit said that Thomas’s patrol car sustained damage to two door panels and a door handle when he scraped the side of the vehicle against a pole Thomas said in the complaint he didn’t realize that night that the car was damaged he reported it to his immediate supervisor Cherepko claimed that Thomas failed to report a “serious incident,” according to the lawsuit and Thomas was suspended without pay for 30 days Thomas listed several incidents in which white officers in the department had damaged patrol cars but received reduced or no discipline struck a pedestrian with his car in 2020 on Lysle Boulevard went through a red light in a police vehicle Thomas filed his second EEOC complaint against the city in December 2022 alleging retaliation and discrimination He received a right-to-sue letter on both EEOC claims on July 29 The EEOC said it found “‘reasonable cause to believe that unlawful employment practices have occurred,’ that the city ‘issued disciplinary actions to [Thomas] because of his race and in retaliation for participating in a protected activity,” and that the city ‘has engaged in a pattern of discriminatory disciplinary actions against a class of Black and/or female police offers because of their race and sex.’” the EEOC wrote that evidence showed that Black and female officers received more severe discipline than their white counterparts Cherepko noted in his statement that Thomas’ EEOC complaint was referred to the U.S the EEOC said the decision not to sue “should not be taken to mean that the Department of Justice has made a judgment as to whether or not your charge is meritorious.” which focuses on actual people from the 1912 tragedy Sisters Reagan and Riley Sheposh are shown during a rehearsal Tuesday at McKeesport Area High School This year’s McKeesport Area High School musical doesn’t take place in a faraway fictional land or feature talking animals It’s about the most famous sinking ship in history and the real people who experienced it But the cast and crew have the talent to take on the challenge “The music is very challenging,” said choral director Beth Eger “And it’s not something that they have heard before so it’s not a Disney show like ‘Moana’ that they could just sing along to But these kids are just a really great group of musicians MAHS will present its production of “Titanic: The Musical” today through Saturday at 7 p.m “Titanic: The Musical,” which originally premiered on Broadway in 1997 brings audiences along for the ship’s fateful journey sharing stories of the real-life people aboard the ocean liner that sank in 1912 The musical differs significantly from the 1997 James Cameron film as it focuses on real-life passengers and crew members instead of a fictional romance The cast and crew have spent the last few months learning their lines and the musical numbers Senior Cooper Kuchma plays bandmaster Wallace Hartley an Englishman who famously led the eight-member band as the Titanic sank “Wallace Hartley was actually the name of the real bandleader on the ship who played the violin and went down with the ship Every character is a real person with a real name,” Kuchma said “I just think it’s cool to relate who I’m portraying on stage to someone’s life that actually happened.” Kuchma described his character as charming and “put together.” he’s there to make everyone else on the ship have fun,” Kuchma said who has performed in three other musicals for MAHS believes the “Titanic” is a bit more serious in tone compared to the shows in previous years because it’s based on a historical event especially thinking about how it actually happened,” Kuchma said “This is a real tragedy explaining people’s lives and it just tells a different type of story than the traditional musical.” a senior who plays Harold Bride and Edgar Beane said it’s been easier to portray characters in “Titanic” as opposed to musicals in the past because the characters are based on real people “So we’re actually able to do more research to get into the characters and get the emotions,” McGrew said When Kuchma heard the cast sing “Godspeed Titanic” for the first time he recognized they have the talent to do the musical numbers justice “It was the first moment I knew this cast was actually going to be able to pull off this music,” he said “That’s when I realized that we’re going to come out with a great product.” Among the cast are quite a few graduating seniors including Riley Sheposh who plays Alice Beane They have spent the last few years working on school musicals together and building friendships Riley Sheposh said she’s going to miss being in musicals after graduation are glad they’re getting the chance to perform together for the first time in a district show “It’s honestly been really fun,” Reagan Sheposh said “(Riley) has helped me through a lot and guided me through so many things I honestly would not have known what I was coming into She told me how things work with the director and she’s been one of my biggest supporters.” Having her sister around and having prior experience working with some of the cast in middle school has eased the pressure for Reagan Many of the seniors said they will look back fondly on their days working on high school musicals “I just like coming to the musical every day and seeing my friends,” Riley Sheposh said I love seeing people that love doing this as well Especially it being my senior year … like I’m going to be sad.” It holds taxes steady for the 2025-26 school year The McKeesport Area school board unanimously approved a preliminary budget Thursday with no tax increase for 2025-26 Board President Mark Holtzman expressed excitement for the budget which keeps the current 20.96 millage rate we’ve got a fund balance and we’re looking forward to next year,” Holtzman said “This board has worked very hard to keep everything in order