Heroin Addict Admits To Chester County Bank Robbery

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Chester County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WEST CHESTER, PA – A 23-year-old man addicted to heroin told a Common Pleas Court judge he wants to make a change in his life when the time comes for him to walk out of prison.

Instead of robbing banks to fund his addiction, as Michael Brown pleaded guilty to before Judge Anne Marie Wheatcraft on Tuesday, he would rather find a job that allows him to speak to people dealing with the same problem.

Brown, a high school dropout who had been addicted to heroin for three years, told the judge he would appreciate the chance to tell others just starting on the road to drug addiction about how he had made the same mistake, only to see his life ruined by having to feed his habit, court observers said.

Wheatcraft appeared impressed with Brown’s determination, and in a recommendation to the state Department of Corrections, suggested that he be allowed to serve his prison sentence at SCI Chester, which has an advanced drug rehabilitation program for inmates.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20140318/heroin-addict-admits-to-bank-robbery

Deportation Battle Ignites Rally In Erie

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Erie County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Friends say Alfredo Ramos-Gallegos lived a spotless life for two decades, raising and supporting two children through hard labor, ambition and kindness.

But even his loved ones acknowledge a big complication: Ramos-Gallegos, 40, of Painesville, Ohio, was in America illegally. Deported to Mexico once, after a factory raid, he sneaked back into the country to be with his pregnant wife about 15 years ago.

Busted again and facing possible jail time, Ramos-Gallegos is at the center of an anti-deportation movement arguing that federal prosecutors are too tough on illegal immigrants who commit no other crimes. Advocates for the law insist that undocumented migrants often swipe jobs from American citizens, use taxpayer-backed social services and undermine lawful immigrants.

“It’s really not fair to all the people who are sponsoring family members or employees using our legal immigration system,” said Jessica Vaughan, policy studies director at the nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies in Washington. “I don’t think it’s wrong for the government to undertake prosecution. I wish they didn’t have to do it so many times.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/5762263-74/gallegos-ramos-immigration#ixzz2wM3eIren
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Steinman Family Foundations Merge, Form One Of The Largest Philanthropic Forces In Lancaster County

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Uniting to be a stronger force for good in the community, two Steinman family foundations are now one.

Tuesday, the James Hale Steinman Foundation and the John Frederick Steinman Foundation, operating separately for 62 years, became simply the Steinman Foundation.

The new charitable organization, with combined assets of more than $85 million, will be one of the largest private foundations in the area, certainly the largest in Lancaster County.

The mission of the foundations has always been to improve the quality of life for people who live here.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/steinman-family-foundations-merge-form-one-of-the-largest-philanthropic/article_5105ba3e-aed1-11e3-928f-001a4bcf6878.html

Jury To Hear Norristown Man’s Statements In Pottstown Murder Trial

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA — An accused Pottstown murder conspirator has lost his bid to prevent a jury from hearing the alleged incriminating statements he gave to police following a gunshot slaying outside a local bar.

Michael Romain Hinton’s police statements are admissible trial evidence, Montgomery County President Judge William J. Furber Jr. ruled after determining Hinton’s statements were voluntary and properly obtained by detectives investigating the 2:17 a.m. March 22, 2013, gunshot slaying of Victor Enrique Bonilla Baez outside Brian’s Café in Pottstown.

Hinton, 27, of the 900 block of North Stanbridge Street in Norristown, and his lawyer Patrick J. McMenamin Jr. maintained Hinton’s statements were not voluntary or knowing because he was questioned while waiting for or under treatment at the hospital for gunshot wounds he suffered on March 22.

But Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Strubel argued Hinton was properly questioned by detectives and that there was nothing to indicate he was confused or under the influence of medication at the time. Strubel implied Hinton was so coherent that he even was able to concoct an initial false statement in an alleged attempt to mislead detectives about the shooting.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20140318/jury-to-hear-norristown-mans-statements-in-pottstown-murder-trial