There’s A New Kind Of Heroin Called Amtrak, And Drug Dealers Are Pushing It In Lancaster, Police Say

Two Lancaster men were caught transporting a large amount of heroin into the county from Philadelphia, police say. And the drug was a new blend called “Amtrak” that’s been prevalent in the area.

Martin Ortiz, 37, of 505 Dauphin St., and Luis Antonio Aponte-Ortiz, 39, 504 New Dauphin St., Apt. 1, both were charged with possession with intent to deliver heroin and criminal conspiracy after a vehicle stop May 28 in Gap, according to Lancaster County Drug Task Force officials.

Investigators, armed with search warrants for Ortiz and his vehicle, stopped the car at Routes 30 and 41.

In the vehicle, officials said they found a plastic grocery bag behind the driver’s seat containing 21 “bricks” of heroin labeled “Amtrak.”

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/there-s-a-new-kind-of-heroin-called-amtrak-and/article_26ad67ac-0af9-11e5-9054-5ff8501a365b.html

Route 222 North Between Route 322 And Adamstown Now Open

Route 222 North has been reopened after closing for more than an hour between Route 322 and the Adamstown exit, state police said.

It was closed between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Tuesday to allow police to further investigate Sunday’s police pursuit and shooting along the highway, they said.

Northbound motorists were detoured to Route 322 West and Route 272 North.

Charges have been filed against the man who led officers from multiple police departments on a high-speed pursuit, rammed a police car head-on and drove his SUV directly at officers on foot Sunday morning on Route 222.

Read more:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/update-route-north-between-route-and-adamstown-now-open/article_14339e84-edbc-11e4-98c0-4398f0438b2e.html

Paradise Township Man Charged With Cutting, Axing Wife To Death

A man killed his wife during an argument Christmas Eve, then took their two children to celebrate Christmas at his parents before calling police to confess, police said.

Dustin Lee Klopp, 36, punched Stephanie Kilhefner in the face, cut her throat and bashed her head with an ax at their Paradise Township home about 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to Pennsylvania State Police in Lancaster.

Klopp then tried to clean up the blood and moved Kilhefner’s body to a shed at the property, police said. He called state police about 5:20 p.m. Thursday to tell them he killed Kilhefner and wanted to turn himself in; he arrived at the barracks about 6:30 p.m., according to police.

About 5:30 p.m., a trooper arrived at their property at 623 Georgetown Road and found Kilhefner’s body in a car-carrier bag in the shed.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/paradise-township-man-charged-with-cutting-axing-wife-to-death/article_e5e1e4d2-8ca9-11e4-8fd0-f7625cc3354c.html

16-Year-Old Charged In Homicide Of Sixth Grade Teacher; Watch Press Conference Replay

Lancaster City police are still investigating the possibility that Marcus Anthony Rutter, 16, had an accomplice in the robbery and killing of Nicole Mathewson.

As of 2 p.m., police had not announced the arrest of a second person in connection with Mathewson’s death, which was discovered Monday morning in her home in the 700 block of North Franklin Street.

Lt. Todd Umstead would not confirm or deny whether police are looking for a second person.

He would only refer to a police news release, which indicated officers were investigating the possibility that Rutter had an accomplice.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/year-old-charged-in-homicide-of-sixth-grade-teacher-watch/article_41fc7300-8524-11e4-9b7e-5f5dc7dd1e76.html

UPDATE: Driver Was Drunk And On Heroin At Time Of Tuesday’s Fatal Crash, Police Say

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Thomas Gallagher Jr., according to officials and court records, was pressing his luck for years.

A decade-long history of alcohol-related legal troubles — including two DUI charges — weren’t stopping him from getting behind the wheel.

His own passengers, it was learned Thursday, were pleading with him to pull over Tuesday prior to a crash in West Lampeter that killed Meredith Demko, a recent high school graduate.

On Thursday afternoon, police filed additional charges of vehicular homicide while DUI. Gallagher’s blood-alcohol level was about three times the state’s legal limit at the time of the crash, documents show.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/lampeterstrasburg/news/update-driver-was-drunk-and-on-heroin-at-time-of/article_ba0f8728-0848-11e4-b1b6-0017a43b2370.html

Police: Man Arrested After Stealing From Same Store 3 Times In 5 Days

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A 20-year-old county man was arrested after stealing from the same Manheim Township store three times in five days, police said.

Skyler J. Daugherty, who has addresses on East Main Street in Lititz and in the 700 block of Pearl Avenue in Manheim, also now faces additional charges from other police departments in the county.

On May 16, Daugherty took a watch and speakers valued at $242 from the Walmart at 2030 Fruitville Pike, Manheim Township police Sgt. Tom Rudzinski reported.

On Monday, he took $209 worth of gaming items from the same store.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/police-man-arrested-after-stealing-from-same-store-times-in/article_62ad8c2c-e1d4-11e3-b5d2-001a4bcf6878.html

Recap Of Live Coverage: DA Says 2 Men Charged In Ashley Lynn Kline Homicide Case

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Two Berks County men are charged with beating and stabbing Ashley Lynn Kline, then setting her body ablaze in a Clay Township wildlife area, according to officials.

Adam M. Lynch, 21, and Ryan M. Schannauer, 19, were both charged Thursday morning with the brutal killing of Kline, a 23-year-old Berks County woman who had been missing since Dec. 30.

Police allege on that night Lynch and Schannauer picked up Kline from her home, killing her sometime later in the night or next morning.

Both are locked up at Lancaster County Prison, without bail, after being arraigned on counts of homicide, arson, abuse of a corpse and conspiracy to commit all three of those crimes.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/944824_Recap-of-live-coverage–DA-says-2–men-charged-in-Ashley-Lynn-Kline-homicide-case.html#ixzz2qa6gw4y1

Man Sentenced 12-40 Years For Beating, Robbing Sisters In Ephrata Home

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Dereck Holt has promise and potential, it was said Thursday in Lancaster County Court.

But Holt also has “a darker side,” which came out Dec. 14 when he beat and robbed three elderly sisters, tied them up and left them for dead.

“I don’t think you’re a bad person,” President Judge Joseph Madenspacher told the 22-year-old Holt.  “But I do think you are a real danger to the community.  Not because you want to be.”

Madenspacher ordered Holt to spend 12 to 40 years in state prison, where he will get intensive psychiatric treatment, for the attack inside the sisters’ Ephrata home.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/886055_Man-sentenced-12-40-years-for-beating–robbing-sisters-in-Ephrata-home.html#ixzz2cjwDwGRt

Police: We Weren’t Notified About Sex Offender Who Is ‘Person Of Interest’ In Lancaster Abduction Case

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A convicted pedophile who authorities have called a “person of interest” in last week’s abduction of a 5-year-old girl in Lancaster Township failed to check in with state police earlier this year as required under Megan’s Law.

Harold Leroy Herr, 73, was supposed to visit police between April 28 and May 7, but did not, according to Southern Regional police.

He is required by law to check in with police four times a year for his 1990 conviction involving the kidnapping and rape of a 5-year-old girl.

Herr was arrested Friday in Conestoga Township, where he lives, and was charged with violating the Megan’s Law check-in requirement, a second-degree felony.  He’s being held at Lancaster County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/872654_Police–We-weren-t-notified-about-sex-offender-who-is–person-of-interest–in-abduction-case.html#ixzz2ZE6AZouH

Man Charged With Assaulting, Torturing Elderly Sisters Waives Hearing

A 22-year-old man will be tried for binding, beating and torturing three elderly Mennonite sisters last year in what police called a case of “ethnic intimidation.”

Dereck Taylor Holt and his attorney, Alan Goldberg, waived a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning on numerous offenses, including felony aggravated assault, robbery, unlawful restraint and reckless endangerment.

In turn, District Judge Tony Russell ordered Holt to be tried on 23 charges related to the Dec. 14 incident in Clay Township.

Holt, locked up on $1 million bail since his arrest Dec. 16, appeared in the Ephrata courtroom only to sign paperwork.  He said nothing.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/811494_Man-charged-with-assaulting–torturing-elderly-sisters-waives-hearing.html#ixzz2K3oNvcKr

DA Calls Assault On Elderly Women In Clay Twp. One Of Lancaster County’s Most Heinous’ Crimes

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The young man accused of torturing three elderly women Friday in their Clay Township home was apprehended swiftly because of collaborative efforts among local police.

That was the message Monday from Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, who led a press conference confirming a litany of charges against 22-year-old Dereck Taylor Holt, who is believed to have targeted the women solely because of his as yet unexplained hatred for members of the Mennonite faith.

“This is one of the most serious crimes that we’ve had in Lancaster County history, one of the most heinous crimes that didn’t result in a homicide,” Stedman said.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” he said.

“To say that I’m shocked by this — we’re all shocked by this — is an understatement.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/794078_DA-calls-assault-on-elderly-women-in-Clay-Twp–one-of-county-s–most-heinous–crimes-.html#ixzz2FSJdUNjI

Man Charged In Attack On Three Women In Clay Township

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A 22-year-old man has been charged with torturing three elderly women in an act of “rage” against the Mennonite faith Friday at a Clay Township home, police said.

Dereck Taylor Holt allegedly used a stun gun-like device on the women, ages 84 to 90, and punched them, according to Northern Lancaster County Regional police. He then bound their hands and feet with tape, covered their faces and ransacked the house, investigators said.

Investigators allege Holt terrorized the women for at least two hours, during which time he indicated he previously had been a member of the Mennonite community and has anger for its members since he left the faith, officials said.

During the assault, he read various Bible passages and then vandalized the women’s Bible, police said.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/793669_Man-charged-in-attack-on-three-women-in-Clay-Township.html#ixzz2FKQHfwGW

Prison Time For Parking Fines Raises Legal, Monetary Issues

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With a constable waiting to take her to jail, bookstore owner Melody Williams wiped tears and called a friend.

Williams told her to pay the shop’s electric bill and rent. She also said she might have to pack up her apartment.

Struggling for composure, Williams, 36, explained that Senior District Judge Jene Willwerth was sending her to jail for overdue parking fines.

“It was a short and sweet hearing,” recalled constable Karl Salisbury, who took Williams into custody at her store on May 31. “The judge said, ‘You owe $2,300 collateral. You’re being committed to Lancaster County Prison.’ ”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/669646_Prison-time-for-parking-fines-raises-legal–monetary-issues.html#ixzz1xs7OXs10