Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania judge charged with shooting ex-boyfriend as he slept

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2024

Pennsylvania judge charged with shooting ex-boyfriend as he slept

Suspended district judge Sonya McKnight. Photo / AP

A suspended magistrate in Pennsylvania shot her estranged boyfriend in the head as he slept last weekend, police said, in filing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges against her.

Tests showed Judge Sonya McKnight, 57, had gunshot residue on her hands an hour after Michael McCoy was shot in the bed of his home in the Harrisburg area, Susquehanna Township Police wrote in an arrest affidavit.

McKnight was in the Dauphin County Prison last weekend with bail set at US$300,000 ($488,000). No lawyer was listed for her in court records. A lawyer who had represented her previously said he did not currently represent her and declined comment. A message was left on McKnight’s cellphone.

Authorities say McCoy is now blind in his right eye.

Police wrote that McCoy, 54, had tried “numerous times” to get McKnight to move out after he ended their one-year relationship. McCoy came home to find McKnight in pyjamas on the couch. When he returned from a restaurant he told her he planned to get McKnight’s mother’s help to get her out of the home.

“Michael McCoy stated that it was like she finally understood that it was over,” police said. He went to bed at about 11pm.

McCoy awoke to “massive head pain” and was unable to see, police said, and when he began to scream McKnight told him, “Mike what did you do to yourself?” He had suffered a gunshot wound to the right temple that exited his left temple, police said. McCoy told police at the scene and later at the hospital that he did not shoot himself.

When McKnight called emergency services shortly before 1am, she “could not explain what happened and stated that she was sleeping and heard him screaming”, police said in the affidavit.

Investigators found doorbell videos from neighbouring homes that contradicted McKnight’s claim that she did not leave the home the night of the shooting. McCoy suspected she had checked on him at the tavern. Detectives wrote in the affidavit that the gun was registered to McKnight and both of them said no one else was in the home at the time of the shooting.

The attempted murder case was transferred from the Dauphin County district attorney’s office, which cited a conflict of interest, to a neighbouring prosecutor, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack. A message was left seeking comment from McCormack.

McKnight, an elected judge in Dauphin County since 2016, was suspended without pay in mid-November by the Court of Judicial Discipline, which handles misconduct allegations against judges.

The Judicial Conduct Board, which investigates and charges misconduct cases against Pennsylvania judges, claimed in a September filing that McKnight had violated judicial probation from a previous misconduct case centred on her actions regarding a 2020 traffic stop involving her son. She was acquitted of criminal charges in that matter.

Among the pending misconduct allegations, the board alleges that she gave excess leave to members of her court staff; directed an aide to ignore a woman’s civil complaint that claimed McKnight owed her for a $2100 ($3419) loan; and used a Facebook profile with her photo in judicial robes to promote sales of a consumer product.

Pennlive.com reported that McKnight was not charged for shooting her estranged husband in 2019 — after inviting him to her home to help her move furniture. State prosecutors did not charge her, citing self-defence, Pennlive said.

Source link

Click to comment

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro has $30 million for his reelection bid, a new state record

Published

5 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro has million for his reelection bid, a new state record

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro set another campaign finance record for Pennsylvania with $30 million on hand as he seeks a second term this fall, his campaign said Tuesday. Pennsylvania has emerged as the nation’s premier presidential battleground state, and Shapiro’s strong showing in the 2022 governor’s race elevated his profile within the Democratic Party, where he’s viewed as a potential 2028 White House contender. In the general election, Shapiro, 52, is expected to face Stacy Garrity, the twice-elected state treasurer who has been endorsed by the state Republican Party.

Source link

Pennsylvania

3 winning scratch-off lotto tickets totaling $7.5M sold in Pennsylvania

Published

18 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Press Room

3 winning scratch-off lotto tickets totaling .5M sold in Pennsylvania

RADNOR TWP., Pa. (WPVI) — Three winning scratch-off tickets totaling $7.5 million were sold in Pennsylvania, lottery officials announced on Monday.

One winning “MONOPOLY Own It All” ticket worth $5 million was sold in Delaware County at the GIANT on the 500 block of East Lancaster Avenue. The grocery store will receive a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

“MONOPOLY Own It All” is a $50 game that offers top prizes of $5 million.

In Erie County, a $1.5 million-winning “Cash Spectacular” scratch-off was purchased at a Sheetz on Perry Highway. “Cash Spectacular” is a $30 game that offers top prizes of $1.5 million.

And in Luzerne County, a $1 million-winning “Millionaire Loading” scratch-off was sold at Schiel’s Family Market in Wilkes-Barre. “Millionaire Loading” is a $20 game that offers top prizes of $1 million.

Scratch-off prizes expire one year from the game’s end-sale date posted at palottery.com.

Winners should immediately sign the back of their ticket and call the Pennsylvania Lottery at 1-800-692-7481.

Source link

Pennsylvania

Where did people move to in 2025? Here’s what U-Haul says and how Pennsylvania ranks

Published

1 day ago

January 5, 2026

Press Room

Where did people move to in 2025? Here’s what U-Haul says and how Pennsylvania ranks

A new report from U-Haul shows where Pennsylvania residents are leaving to and where new residents are coming from in 2025. Here’s what to know about U-Haul’s top 10 states with the most and least growth numbers.

Eight warm weather states made U-Haul’s top 10 growth list for 2025, while eight states in the colder Northeast and Midwest filled out the bottom 10, including Pennsylvania and neighboring New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Delaware ranked 21 out of 50 states in growth for 2025.

U-Haul also noted besides geography, that seven of the 10 states with the most growth featured Republican governors, nine of which went red in the last presidential election, and 9 out of 10 in the bottom growth states featured Democrat governors, seven of which went blue in the last presidential election.

“We continue to find that life circumstances — marriage, children, a death in the family, college, jobs and other events — dictate the need for most moves,” said John “J.T.” Taylor, U-Haul International president in press release. Adding, “But other factors can be important to people who are looking to change their surroundings. In-migration states are often appealing to those customers.”

U-Haul ranks states growth based on their one-way customer transactions that rented trucks, trailers or moving containers in one state and dropped it off in another state. Their growth index included over 2.5 million annual one-way transactions across the United States and Canada.

Texas holds the number one U-Haul growth state for the seventh time in the last 10 years while California ranked last for the sixth year in a how.

Pennsylvania’s growth rank for 2025 remained at a low 46 out of 50 states, same as 2024, and compared relatively similar to its growth numbers over the last 10 years, according to U-Haul’s data, with the exception during 2022-2023 when its highest growth numbers hit 24 out of 50 in 2022 and 38 out of 50 in 2023.

Oregon, Mississippi, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Louisiana and Montana were among the biggest year-over-year gainers in 2025 compared to U-Haul’s 2024 rankings, while Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Delaware and Nebraska saw the biggest drops.

While the national average rent in the U.S. sits at approximately $1,623 per month (0.4% higher than this time last year) the Keystone State boasts a lower rent average at approximately $1,526 per month (1.9% higher than last year), according to Apartments.com. It is ranked 34th least expensive rent by state.

Here’s what to know about Pennsylvania and what states saw the most and least growth in 2025 according to U-Haul.

Top 10 U-Haul growth states of 2025

In 2025 Pennsylvania ranked 46 out of 50 states on growth as reported by U-Haul.

Texas
Florida
North Carolina
Tennessee
South Carolina
Washington
Arizona
Idaho
Alabama
Georgia

U-Haul reported the 10 states with the lowest growth numbers were lead by California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, and Michigan.

Where are Pennsylvania residents moving to and from?

According to the company’s semiannual U.S. migration trends report, based on the one-way rental data after the summer’s high moving season, it revealed that while Pennsylvania remains a top destination, Pennsylvanians are also packing up and heading out. Here’s where they moved to: