Powers, Yeargers assist in apprehending fellow student

On March 28 Seton Hill University (SHU) student Jeremy Spisak was jailed after allegedly taking a Greensburg police officer’s Taser gun and using the weapon on her.

“I’ve spoken to Jeremy a few times and he always seemed like a nice person,” said Daryle Gracey, a junior. “However, you never can tell these things.”

By Kayla Sawyer,

Online Editor

On March 28 Seton Hill University (SHU) student Jeremy Spisak was jailed after allegedly taking a Greensburg police officer’s Taser gun and using the weapon on her.

“I’ve spoken to Jeremy a few times and he always seemed like a nice person,” said Daryle Gracey, a junior. “However, you never can tell these things.”

The officer had been in the midst of arresting Spisak for a previous assault when he allegedly attempted to steal her police cruiser.

The officer had been responding to a call about Spisak allegedly trying to stab Christopher Steele, a security guard at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital, in his apartment on Concorde Avenue.
SHU sophomores, Mike Powers and his roommate Justin Yeargers, assisted in apprehending Spisak.

“My roommate and I only sustained several scratches from the bushes in the alley,” said Powers. “I got some cuts on my knuckles from the fight.”

On April 14 both Powers and Yeargers were awarded plaques on behalf of the mayor and the Greensburg Police Department, along with a letter from the police thanking them for their decisive action.

“I’ve met Jeremy on several occasions and he’s always been a great kid,” said Powers. “The person in the alley that night had no control over what he was doing. You could tell he wasn’t the same Jeremy that so many people grew to love on campus.”

Earlier that day Spisak was involved in another incident in which campus police were called. Chris Bruce, a sophomore and Setonian photo editor, had reported Spisak because he had been allegedly harassing several students in the music department.

According to Bruce, Spisak had also claimed to be the Dean of Students and was insisting that the students go with him. When approached by campus police, Spisak fled out the back of Cecilian hall and ran outside.

“I was just afraid because nothing like that has happened to me before on the Hill,” said Bruce.
Spisak was placed in Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $250,000 after being arraigned on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, burglary, disarming a law enforcement officer, and robbery of a motor vehicle.