Arona man again arrested on witness intimidation charges

Renatta Signorini, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 4—An Arona man has been arrested for the second time in less than three months on charges of intimidation of a witness.

Shawn E. Grbach, 43, is free on bail after being arraigned Monday.

He was first arrested July 12 after police said he yelled at a woman headed to a protection-from-abuse hearing involving him at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. While being held at the county jail in that case, county detectives said they obtained a recording of a July 18 phone call in which Grbach tried to get a message to the same woman, according to court papers.

Grbach is accused of calling a relative in an effort to get the woman to drop domestic assault charges in a May case, authorities said in court papers filed Sept. 24. He asked a relative to instruct another person to talk to the woman.

"'Tell him to be smooth, and make sure it doesn't sound like it's coming from me,'" detectives said Grbach told the relative in the jailhouse phone call. "'Because he'll listen to me.'"

When the relative balked at the discussion on the phone from the Hempfield jail because it was being recorded, detectives said Grbach instructed her to "'do it anyway,'" according to court papers.

He was arraigned Monday and freed on $50,000 unsecured bond. A Nov. 5 preliminary hearing is set. Attorney Tim Dawson said he hopes to amicably resolve the case with prosecutors and that Grbach and the woman have apparently reconciled their relationship.

Grbach has been in and out of jail for the last five months. He spent a day there before posting $50,000 bail in the domestic case. A preliminary hearing also is set for Nov. 5.

After his arrest on the first set of witness intimidation charges in July, Grbach was initially denied bail. Authorities said he confronted the woman twice at the courthouse. Several witnesses told police that Grbach demanded she drop the PFA case. They physically blocked him from being able to get to the woman, according to court papers.

A judge set bail of $250,000 in the case on July 29. It was posted Sept. 23, according to online court records. A status conference is set for Nov. 30.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .