Shades murder and her killer, who turned out to be her boyfriend, Charles F. Soult, 26, of Altoona, is fictionally depicted in a 10-episode Netflix show Mindhunter, which began airing Oct. 13. Would you like to receive our breaking news? Click here to see our subscription options. Before coming to Blair County to fill a new position in the district attorneys office, Weeks worked in Lawrence County where he was tutored by Senior Deputy Attorney General Mike Awesh, who emphasized the relationship between drugs and crime. Those range from homicides to code cases. The victims mother was in fear for her daughters life and yelled at her to come downstairs, police stated. Violent Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents), Property Crime Comparison (per 1,000 residents). I cant be beholden to the facts, Fincher said on the podcast. Jackson, then 29, remembers viewing the scene and in his initial shock exclaiming, Are we really seeing what we are seeing?. Emergency 911 / Non-Emergency (814) 949-2489 This page is not monitored 24/7 The probation department recommended a minimum sentence of three months in jail, which is at the top of the mitigated range and at the bottom of the standard range in the sentencing guidelines, Ammerman said. Now let us turn to take a look at how Altoona does for violent crimes specifically, and then how it does for property crimes. He said his client is extremely remorseful for what happened and has another son that she cares for. Ron McConnell, who was then the chief operating officer of Altoona Regional Health System (now UPMC Altoona), was quoted by the Mirror in March 2007 as stating, We are angry and fed up with what is going on in our community., Michael Fiore of the construction firm of L.S. His body was found in a burning car along a rural Cambria County road not far from the Blair County line. He said he was appointed as the lead detective of the vice-narcotics unit to stop the violence. Officers with the Altoona Police Department on May 20, 2018 responded to a 911 call about an unconscious toddler who was not breathing at a residence located in the 900 block of 23rd Avenue. Local News . Get our expert short-term forecast, summary of the weather details and news of any severe weather. I loved working for the Altoona Police Department. Mr. Slep's eldest son, William H. Slep, eventually joined the business and the firm became known as H. & W.H. All Memorials and Obituaries (52) Waterford, Pennsylvania Larry O. Butler 1938 2023 She believes at least some of the victims of those fires would still be alive if they would have maintained their smoke detectors. Police were also searching for a death book or a series of clippings of Shades murder. People would be sent to Maras, who would prescribe the pills. It was quite a case, quite a story, he said. Cathy described how she wrestled with Charles, attempting to take away a knife. Pottemeyer explained that the husky men were members of Vince Caracciolos crew Caracciolo was the mob enforcer and Maras requested that one of the crew punch him to make the robbery look real. Be Proactive. She began to count and reported that in 1999 there were six drug overdose deaths in Blair County. The biggest impact was on the families: the fathers, the sisters of drug addicts wondering when the call was going to come that a brother or sister had died due to overdose, McTigue said. She died at the crash. Choose wisely! The EPA says its proposal will reduce ethylene oxide emissions from 86 medical sterilization facilities across the United States by roughly 80%. Use the archive to gain a local perspective on historical news, to research your family history, or to simply read about a person or event of interest. He was born in Altoona. each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Weeks theory of addressing the drug problem through harsh sentences was challenged several years ago by the now-deceased leader of the Blair County Chapter of the NAACP, Don Witherspoon, who maintained the long sentences were having a devastating effect on the African American community. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Sisto said Huber had saved up to take her family on a vacation to Erie and Niagara Falls and was returning home when the crash occurred. Updated annually. He said she was following another vehicle on an unfamiliar road when she lost control of the vehicle. Rather, the problem rests with the Uniform Crime Reporting process to which Merrill and other police chiefs are required to adhere. Friends will be received from 6 to 8 p.m . I cant go, I cant go, she said repeatedly as sheriff deputies led her from the courtroom. He said investigators never could figure out why Betty and Charles were a couple in the first place. She was arraigned Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Andrew L. Blattenberger on a felony charge of flight to avoid apprehension and a misdemeanor charge of obstructing an officer. Mattas and the three investigators spent a week at the FBI headquarters in Quantico studying criminal profiling. Altoona Mirror 301 Cayuga Ave. Altoona, PA 16602 (814) 946-7411 http://www.altoonamirror.com Altoona Mirror is proud to offer We Remember memorial pages. Drug gangs come to communities from major metropolitan areas for the money. Generally cloudy. The story of that violence dates back 41 years to Sept. 9, 1981. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. In 1983, Caracciolo entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder for the 1979 murder of John Henry Clark of Altoona. The board then meets in executive session and reconvenes to vote in public. He believes in treatment options and other programs, but he stressed the safety of the community is his top priority. When that feedback is received, clemency hearings can be granted if three Board of Pardons members approve. In a report issued that year by Operation Our Town, Altoona Police Chief Joseph Merrill stated his officers responded to 250 overdoses. They come to these areas to make money, he stated emphatically. Mattas remembers the day he took the oath as DA and returned to his office. And there is an extension beyond that to the taxpayers who fund city operations, including the police department, by way of their taxes. A Pennsylvania candy-maker ignored warnings of a gas leak at its chocolate factory and bears responsibility for a subsequent explosion, accord. Jayde Renate Huber, 33, of Altoona, who was involved in a crash that killed her 5-year-old son, was sentenced to prison by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman yesterday morning at Plea and. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Enter the length or pattern for better results. In addition, Wright allegedly has a CO2 air pistol. Pottmeyer and Bidelspach were the lead investigators who just a couple of years prior to the Shade murder tracked down serial killer Jeffrey Daugherty and, using a unique strategy, got Daugherty to admit to seven murders, two in the Altoona area, one in Virginia, three in Florida and one in Texas. Heller had been called to the site with his police dog, Anthony, to track possible clues. The overdose count is probably much higher, now that naloxone, a drug used to reverse the effects of an overdose, is readily available at pharmacies. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. What made the death of Betty Jean Shade so different was the violence to her body, and in an effort to determine who killed her, investigators, through the aid of former FBI Agent Dale Frye, who served the Altoona area, turned to the fledgling FBI effort at its Quantico, Va., facility, which was attempting to perfect psychological profiling. It gives people hope in life. Profiling, Mattas said, can point investigators to a suspect, but that doesnt get the case into court, and that was the problem facing the DA and the police. Both Jackson and Heller remembered Charles Soult and his sister coming to the illegal dump site, allegedly looking for Charles girlfriend, who was missing for a couple of days and had not shown up at her baby-sitting job the day before. Jocelyn Brumbaugh is a reporter for the Tribune-Democrat. Click to reveal Drugs were having a major impact on crime. Another resident of the home told police Wright has a Glock pistol and a Smith & Wesson coming to him. Thats what we should all look for. Incumbent and former Altoona police officer Jones has handled 17,000 cases since being elected for the first time in 2017, he said. We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to make the text on a newspaper image searchable. Police one night served one of their many search warrants at a Bell Avenue home. Howard Lenale Wright, 42, was arraigned Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Fred B. Miller on a felony charge of possessing a firearm and two misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and. Today's breaking news and more in your inbox. Im sorry I caused Cambria County all this trouble, he said. That means long, very long, sentences for drug gang leaders. Because of the nature of the OCR technology, sometimes the language can appear to be nonsensical. NeighborhoodScout provides exclusive crime risk analytics for every neighborhood in America with up to 98% predictive accuracy. In the days after Shades body was found, the young murder victim was described by friends as a very sweet, innocent girl, who was very quiet and polite. The 1974 graduate of Altoona Area High School earned money by baby-sitting for a city family. While the Blair County grand jury proved a success in eliminating the quaalude problem, police from the local to the federal level in the next few decades would experience an onslaught of drugs that included cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, fentanyl bath salts and multiple other substances that attempt to quench the craving of people who are seeking the ultimate high. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. Douglas had studied habits of and interviewed some of the nations most violent and notorious killers like Ted Bundy, James Earl Ray and John Wayne Gacey. Charles never did confess, but both Michael and Cathy eventually came forward. The best way to see what's on the page is to view the newspaper page. When a user needed a fix, he would call a number and place an order in Brooklyn. Regarding the report itself, the UCRs hierarchy rule, which focuses on only the most serious offense in an incident involving more than one crime, makes a mockery of the crimes-committed compilation. In a recent interview with Fincher on the Empire Film Podcast, he explained why in the depiction of brutal crimes, facts and names are often altered. Get the latest obituaries from The Progress. . Unable to post $175,000 bail, he was remanded to the Blair County Prison. He began hitting the street dealers hard, not waiting for a mass roundup. Hes also set to be charged with four summary traffic violations. The money interested the leaders of the crime family, who met with Maras and eventually accepted him as an associate. The Altoona portion of the series, which has generated a great deal of comment locally, begins with episode 4 and continues through episodes 5 and 6. The victims father and his wife both spoke at the hearing. He was also sentenced to an additional 30 to 60 years behind bars for several arson charges filed throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including a house fire at a property he owned in Blandburg in Reade Township, Cambria County, and at Johnny Os Disco and Greenwood Steakhouse, both in Altoona. Hilemans body was found in the Tipton Reservoir. We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to make the text on a newspaper image searchable. Multiple doctors told investigators the infants injuries were consistent with sexual assault, state police at Rockview wrote in a charging document. Would you like to receive our headline news? UCR is and always has been a flawed reporting system that, in fact, has made some communities appear safer than they actually are, while in rarer cases has given some communities a black eye that they did not deserve. Ross works closely with police and Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks, providing them with reports of her investigations. He said he was a gawking neighbor in one of the scenes. If a majority of the board votes in favor of the application, its approval is recommended to the governor. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Akers left the company . The informant told police that night that a gang from Pittsburgh was going to kill gang members from New York, or as McTigue put it, Pittsburgh was going to kill New York.. Its the same everywhere. Miles was driving about 7 p.m. in the northbound lane along the 11000 block of U.S. Route 220. Has anyone really tried to find out, by way of presentation of the true story that UCR fails to deliver? The profile predicted the killer would maintain a diary of the killing. Courthouse records show at least five active investigations underway this year. More importantly and very troubling is that a statistical charade does not focus on the remedial measures that really are needed to address what ought to be subjects of focus. His preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 6 before Miller. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Our Town also provides financial assistance to agencies that seek to prevent drug abuse among the young, last year providing grants to the Altoona Area School District, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Center for Independent Living, the Gloria Gates Foundation, Leaders of Tomorrow and the 18th Street Community Church, Sanctuary Recovery House, as well as others. Thefts and burglaries spiked as users sought money to support their habits, he said. We won't share it with anyone else. He changed the procedure. The bulk of the overdose deaths in 2021 were people in their 30s, 40s and 50s; the oldest overdose victim was 83, while the next oldest was 73, according to statistics. Are they in fact not willing to pay a small amount more for a safer city? Finally, will there be a serious attempt to turn some of the flexibility that will be possible, thanks to money coming from Washington, into meaningful improvement of the police departments capabilities? A local dealer in Altoona would be apprised of the order and would give the drugs to a minion, (as McTigue described them) who would make the actual delivery. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.. Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. During the incident, Wright allegedly pointed the gun toward the mother and said he would kill her. April 11, 2023 - Local News. A statistics framework constructed atop a foundation of incomplete information cannot provide the kind of guidance necessary to deal with such an important topic as crime. The borough has been offering a sidewalk grant program that reimburses property owners 25% of the cost of replacement or installation of a pedestrian sidewalk located along a public street. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders reportedly found a then-19-year-old Burd attempting to perform CPR on Angela, who was in cardiac arrest. Mattas said Charles Soult eventually became the prime suspect. Philipsburg man charged, accused of raping an infant in Centre County, These are the top invasive plants you should watch for in your Pennsylvania backyard, The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Reviewing Penn State footballs Blue-White game, Man found dead next to State College parking garage, marking second such death in a month, Penn State guard Jameel Brown exits transfer portal, remains with Nittany Lions, Target Makes a Big Move to Take On Lowes and Home Depot, PA area code 814 gets millions of scam calls each year. You can cancel at any time. 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