Judge Caulfield Handles DUI, Narcotics, Burglary Cases

Robin A. McGriff, 39, of Swissvale faces a hearing in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on multiple charges for two separate cases.

District Judge Thomas Caulfield held both cases for court after a preliminary hearing in Forest Hills district court on Nov. 8.

McGriff faces charges of harassment (communicating lewd, threatening messages), defiant trespass (actual communication), disorderly conduct (unreasonable noise) and public drunkenness and similar misconduct for an incident Oct. 17 in the 2200 block of Woodstock Avenue, Swissvale.

She also faces charges of burglary, simple assault, harassment-subject other to physical contact and two counts of theft by unlawful taking-moveable property for a separate incident in the 2200 block of Woodstock Avenue, Swissvale, on Nov. 1.

Charges for both incidents were filed by Swissvale police.

Caulfield also handled a variety of other cases in his courtroom in Forest Hills on Nov. 8:

• Heather J. Pititti, 37, of Wilkinsburg waived her right to a preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving safely, first offense), driving under the influence (highest rate of alcohol, blood alcohol content .16+, first offense), illegal turn and careless driving. A Swissvale office monitoring traffic on South Braddock Avenue at Waverly Street saw a car turn right on a solid red light posted no turn on Sept. 8. He conducted a traffic stop. The officer detected an odor of alcohol coming from Pititti and noted that she exhibited signs of intoxication. According to a criminal complaint, Pititti failed a field sobriety test and a breath analyzer test estimated her blood alcohol content at .210 and .213 percent.

• Brian J. Venturella, 30, of Forest Hills was held for court on charges of robbery-taking property from others, burglary, loitering and prowling at nighttime, theft by unlawful taking-moveable property and harassment-subject others to physical contact. Charges were filed by Braddock Hills police after an incident on Oct. 28.

• James Stock, 69, of Swissvale waived his right to a preliminary hearing on two counts of driving under the influence (general impairment/incapable of driving, first offense), and one count each of driving under the influence (high rate of alcohol, .10 to .16, first offense) and careless driving filed by Forest Hills police. Stock's vehicle was involved in a one-vehicle crash in the 300 block of Avenue F when it ended up over a hill and against a garage on Aug. 30. Forest Hills police responded and detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from Stock. According to a criminal complaint, he told police that he had attempted to manually shift gears but his truck went backward instead, causing heavy damage to the vehicle and moderate damage to the garage. A breath analyzer estimated his blood alcohol content at .143 and .139.

• David James Hess, 29, of Carnegie waived his right to a preliminary hearing on a charge of intentional possession of a controlled substance by  a person not registered following an incident in the 1900 block of Hanover Street in Swissvale on Sept. 24. Swissvale police discovered a small plastic bag with white powder on a dresser in the home, a stamp bag of heroin and an empty stamp bag of heroin partially dissolved in the toilet. Swissvale police filed the charge.