Pittsburgh All Local

Efforts continue to bring Butler native Marc Fogel home from a Russian prison. NewsRadio KDKA's Pat Septak is live from the newsroom with the latest: People from all over the country are expected to make the trip to Washington, D.C. tomorrow to raise awareness about Marc Fogel. He sentenced to hard labor in a Russian prison in 2021 for carrying about one-half ounce of medical marijuana. Marc's sister, Anne Fogel, that she hopes this rally will persuade legislators to have her brother designated as "wrongfully detained":

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Tomorrow's rally will be from 1 to 4 at Lafayette Park, right in front of the White House. Live from the newsroom, I'm Pat Septak, NewsRadio KDKA. 

Robert Bowers is is eligible for the death penalty. The jurors deliberated less than two hours, telling the court they were unanimous on all three questions. Is the convicted gunman 18 or older ? Did Bowers have intent? And was there one or more aggravating factors? The decision on the second question was a victory for prosecutors, who convinced the jury Bowers knew what he was doing and had intent to kill. What's next? Victim impact statements, testimony and then deliberations on the sentence. One estimate is this phase of the trail could last 7 days. 

Homicide charges have been filed after a 15-year-old was fatally shot in Ambridge on Sunday. NewsRadio KDKA's Andrew Limberg has the details:

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Two shootings in Beaver County took the lives of two teenage boys in separate incidents over the weekend. Last night in Ambridge, a 14-year-old boy was shot around 6:40 p.m. in the 1100 block of Church Street. Police took a suspect into custody after a SWAT situation at a nearby apartment. The victim has not been identified yet. With details on the killing of a 15-year-old boy in Aliquippa on Saturday night, here's NewsRadio KDKA's Rob Taylor. [Crime Solvers of Beaver County has offered a 5,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for the shooting death of Dah vee A Sparrow. Beaver County DA David Lozier said the shooting happened at 1135 Saturday night while Sparrow was outdoors at a house party. He was found at Knoll and Main streets. Mayor Dwan Walker knew Sparrow well. Those with information can call state police at 724 773 7400. RT NR KDKA]

The city's Department of Public Safety says narcotics & vice detectives have made a number of arrests Downtown. A notification says officers investigating drug trafficking complaints have arrested 18 people since June 28th. The majority of the arrests resulted in felony drug charges and "large quantities" of heroin, crack cocaine, other drugs and cash were seized. The Bureau of Police says officers will continue their focus on drug trafficking Downtown.

The Pennsylvania House passed a $45 billion state spending plan last night, five days after the June 30th deadline. The hold up was over a voucher proposal for tuition at private and religious schools. The governor pulled back his support, saying he was disappointed but will issue a line-item veto to get the budget passed.

Beyonce's August 3rd concert at Acrisure Stadium has been canceled. A Twitter announcement from the stadium says the reasons for the cancellation are production logistics and scheduling issues. Refunds are being automatically issued at the point of purchase.

An Oakmont woman has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of her 3-year-old stepdaughter, who first responders discovered "badly bruised and malnourished" three years ago. 
Laura Ramriez, was also convicted of aggravated assault, unlawful restraint and child endangerment.
The little girl - Bella Rae Seachrist - was found unresponsive at a home on 10th Street in Oakmont in June of 2020. She later died at the hospital.  Detectives said she suffered from prolonged physical and mental abuse. 
Police also charged the girl's father, Jose Eduardo Salazar-Ortiz Sr., and Ramriez's sister, Alexis Herrera. Court paperwork shows Salazar-Ortiz Sr. was found guilty of third-degree murder and multiple other charges. A trial is scheduled for Herrera in 2024.

Two people died following a house fire in Beltzhoover. Crews rushed to the scene in the 400 block of Cedarhurst Street around 530 this morning. Firefighters located two people, a man and a woman, on the second floor of the home. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, the other person was transported to a hospital, where that person later died. The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

A driver is dead after losing control of a vehicle last night on the Turnpike in Washington County. The coroner says it happened around 10 p.m. at Exit 32 to California. The vehicle went down an embankment and the driver, who was not using a seatbelt, was ejected. No word yet on that person's identity.