Latest news with #LancasterCountyDistrictAttorney'sOffice
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Man sentenced for Lancaster County street racing death
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A Chester County man was sentenced for his role in a high-speed street race that killed a Manheim Township man in 2023. According to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, Judge Thomas Sponaugle sentenced Brandon Gentile to an aggregate sentence of nine years to include time served in custody awaiting trial, additional prison time and consecutive probation with restrictive conditions. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Gentile will spend the first two days of his probation in Lancaster County Prison, according to the DA's office. He will then serve 12 months of house arrest followed by up to two months of intensive supervision for homicide by vehicle, consecutive, and 321 to 729 days in custody for carrying a firearm without a license. In May, Gentile pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle, firearms not to be carried without a license, four counts of recklessly endangering another person, two counts of driving under the influence and other offenses. The charges stem from the death of 22-year-old Thomas Hartenstine of Manor Township. PSP: Police pursuit ends in fatal motorcycle crash in Cumberland County Gentile initially denied racing, but PennDOT cameras showed the two racing throughout the county as fast as 140 mph, the DA's office said. The DA's office said police seized a loaded handgun, a THC vape pen, alprazolam pills, and other drug paraphernalia from Gentile's car. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Lancaster County man to face prison time for severely injuring infant daughter
LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) — A Lancaster County man will spend at least two years in prison after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, accused of breaking his infant daughter's bones. Bryan Garcia-Almanza, 26, of Mount Joy, was sentenced to 33 months to eight years in state prison last week. He had been accused of injuring his infant daughter last year. Judge Merrill Spahn delivered the sentencing in Lancaster County Court, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, and called the child's injuries 'absolutely horrific.' She had five fractured ribs, among other injuries. Garcia-Almanza initially cooperated with the investigation and was remorseful for his actions, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Ponessa said, but he never mentioned the origins of his daughter's injuries when she was brought to doctors. Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices Speaking to the court prior to his sentencing, Garcia-Almanza said he 'deeply understand[s] the impact of my actions' and that his primary goal is to become a better person in prison, adding that it 'pains' him now to see his daughter suffering.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Thug in a petite package:' Lancaster woman imprisoned for breaking into home, assaulting juvenile
LANCASTER, Pa. (WHTM) — A Lancaster Township woman was sentenced to two to eight years this week after being found guilty of breaking into a home and assaulting a juvenile in 2022. The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office says Najee Aalliyah Ramirez, 27, of the 700 block of Sterling Place on Friday, was found guilty of charges of burglary, corruption of minors, and simple assault following a three-day trial in absentia in May 2024. According to the DA's Office, on Aug. 11, 2022, a disagreement between a juvenile co-defendant and the juvenile victim led to Najee and Jajaira Ramirez, 38, encouraging the juveniles to settle the argument by fighting. When the juvenile victim and her mother refused to come outside to fight them, Najee and Jajaira forced the door open, rushed inside, and attacked the victim and her mother. Jajaira Ramirez was found guilty during the same May 2024 trial and sentenced to one year less one day to two years less one day of confinement, followed by three years of probation. The case of a second co-defendant, Aisha Kemmerer, is still pending. The final co-defendant, Ramirez's then-16-year-old niece, had her case resolved in juvenile court, per the DA's Office. Prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Lapp told the court that Najee Ramirez has exhibited 'zero remorse for her actions' during and after the trial, as she failed to appear for her trial and a subsequent bail hearing. Ramirez was ultimately arrested on a bench warrant in March. Judge Jeffrey Conrad said he believed Ramirez went to the home solely to assault a child, calling it 'a miracle' that she survived the incident and encouraging her to 'grow up this second.' The DA's Office said Ramirez wrote a letter to the court but was unable to read it. Judge Conrad read the letter to the court, which said she 'ran away from my problems instead of dealing with them' and apologized for 'feeding into negativity' in a series of social media posts directed at the victim after the assault. Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices However, the DA's Office said Judge Conrad challenged Ramirez's hesitance to speak, telling her that her 'mouth ran like a duck's backside' when she broke into a home and 'beat on a child,' saying her actions are not of a mother or grown woman, but of 'a thug in a petite package.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Teen from Lancaster County school shooting threat gets chance to expunge record
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — One Lancaster County teen is getting the chance to expunge a criminal charge from his record that was from an investigation into a post that was investigated as a school shooting threat, officials say. Garrett Swayne, 19, of Quarryville, was accepted on Tuesday into Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) and he will have to spend a year under supervision by the county's probation office along with doing 40 hours of community service, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office said. There is a $650 cost to enter into ARD, and the defendant can expect to have to also pay a fine, court costs and a probation fee. If Swayne fails to comply with ARD's conditions, the DA can decided to continue with prosecuting his case, and his record will not be expunged. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Severe Weather Alerts Swayne and Francy Brisma, 19, of Willow Street, were both charged with a misdemeanor count of terroristic threats, after State Police were alerted about an Instagram post on January 9. Read prior -> Lancaster County teens arrested for school shooting threat on social media Brisma allegedly posted a photograph depicting Swayne holding a gun with the caption 'close the schools,' and 'time to play,' with the song 'Mask Murder' playing, court documents filed by State Police show. Swayne told Troopers how he and Brisma had just bought an AR-style rifle at a shooting range and took the gun back to Brisma's home. Online court records state that Brisma's charge was changed to two different summary counts of disorderly conduct and harassment. He pleaded guilty to them, and the DA's Office says his case is still pending. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
DA: Man sentenced for role in stealing food delivery driver's vehicle, leading chase in Lancaster County
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — One of the people accused of robbing a pizza delivery driver of their vehicle at gunpoint and leading police on a chase even after the vehicle caught fire was sentenced. The Lancaster County District Attorney's Office said Matthew Reyes, 21, will spend between four to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty this week. He pleaded guilty to charges of robbery of a motor vehicle, criminal conspiracy of robbery of a motor vehicle, robbery, person not to possess a firearm, firearms not to be carried without a license, fleeing or attempting to elude an officer and two summary traffic violations. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now After the driver arrived at a residence in the 100 block of East Vine Street to deliver food on June 7, 2024, Xavier Velazquez, one of the suspects charged in the robbery, pointed a gun at her. He demanded she give 'everything you have,' according to the DA's Office. The duo then took her cellphone, cash and car keys before they drove away, and were eventually spotted traveling at a high rate of speed by police on Willow Street. During the chase, the vehicle 'bottomed out' which caused the vehicle to catch fire. Reyes, who was driving, then pulled over in a parking lot and him, along with Velazquez, and a third person, Evian Simmons, were then arrested. According to the DA's Office, Reyes said the initial plan was to just steal the food but they then stole the delivery driver's vehicle, and picked up Simmons. Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices Velazquez and Simmons are still going through court proceedings, the DA's Office said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
