Officer Melissa Ruch pleads guilty

Melissa Ruch, a former police officer from West Penn, pleaded guilty on Oct. 19 to a misdemeanor charge of making false reports incriminating another person. She was accused of fabricating a story that she was attacked and thrown down an embankment along Route 309 by a Hispanic male. She was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest after emergency crews reached her. No suspect was ever found, and police interviews with Ruch revealed inconsistencies in her story.Ashland man shot at White HouseJesse Olivieri was shot on May 20 outside of the White House after refusing to drop a gun he was carrying. He pleaded guilty to a federal charge of resisting or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon. Olivieri is a graduate of North Schuylkill High School. When asked by a Secret Service officer why he came to the White House, Olivieri responded with, “I came here to shoot people.” Olivieri was sentenced by Judge Royce C. Lamberth to eight months of confinement and three years of supervised release.Ex-lawyer sentenced to prison in robberySteven M. Cormier of Walnutport was sentenced to serve 18 to 36 months in prison after pleading guilty to robbery, theft and receiving stolen property. He pleaded nolo contendere to terroristic threats, meaning he did not plead guilty, but recognized that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him of that charge. He was struggling with debt when he walked into the Wells Fargo in Norwegian Township on Oct. 13, 2015. In March of 2016, Cormier agreed to be disbarred.Man charged for chase, robberiesAn Albrightsville man was charged in a string of armed robberies after leading police on a high-speed chase and robbing stores in Carbon County.Kyle Heim, 34, was charged with more than 100 counts of driving violations, two counts of simple assault, seven counts of recklessly endangering another person, as well as many other various charges.During the high-speed chase, Heim cause motorists to swerve to avoid collision, drove in opposite lanes of travel, failed to stop at stop signs, and other driving violations while attempting to flee from police.Heim also faced charges for an armed robbery at the dollar General Store along Route 903. Other robberies were reporter in Kidder Township, Carbon County, Chestnuthill Township and Monroe County. Heim also robbed a Dollar General store in Ross Township on April 10. Heim was found in Walnutport on April 11 and was taken into custody, then was transported to Lehighton state police station where he confessed to robbing the Dollar General in Penn Forest.Lehighton woman faced gun chargesKimberly Arendt, 29, of Lehighton, was arrested with loaded weapons, knives and ballistic vests outside of New York City’s Holland Tunnel. With her were John Cramsey, 50, and dean Smith, 53, both of Zionsville. They were heading to rescue a teen girl being held by a drug dealer in Brooklyn, according to police.The three face multiple weapons charges. A search of the vehicle uncovered two rifles, five handguns and knives. Some of the weapons were loaded.The trio were going to help a 16-year-old girl from Wilkes-Barre from a hotel room in Brooklyn after an issue involving drugs.Arendt, a recovering addict, met the girl at Camp Adams, a Penn Forest Township camp for troubled youth where Arendt previously worked.Woman charged for abduction, robberyKerri Blasko, 49, of Coaldale, was charged with criminal conspiracy for robbery, false imprisonment and simple assault.Blasko, along with John Russup, 54, and Amber Neff, 31, were wanted in connection with an alleged abduction that led to the stabbing and robbery of a Tamaqua woman on Nov. 18. The woman reported that she had been kidnapped, robbed and stabbed by two women and a man.Man charged for hurting his infantAnthony Dylan Shetrompf, 22, of Palmerton, was sentenced by Judge Joseph J. Matika after he admitted to injuring his then 2-month-old daughter while he was arguing with his wife.Shetrompf pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault on a child less than 18, a felony 2. In exchange for the plea, the district attorney’s office dropped counts of endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.Shetrompf admitted in a police interview that he aggressively picked up the child and heard a pop when he realized that the child’s leg was wrapped in a blanket. He then grabbed the child about the rib cage again, more aggressively. When he realized he was hurting his daughter, he went to place in back in her crib and accidentally dropped her approximately a foot above the mattress.The child was treated for seven broken ribs, a spiral fracture midshaft right femur and a broken shoulder at St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale.Shetrompf entered a guilty plea before the sentencing to tattooing a minor. The girl was 16 years old and did not have permission from her parents to receive the tattoo.— Amanda J. Treible