Deliberations begin

Deliberations begin
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where a Columbiana couple are suing a doctor they say contributed to the stillbirth of their first son in July 1999. Matthew and Sunny Barger are seeking unspecified damages from Dr. Robert McCluskey, saying he should not have used the drug Cytotec to induce labor. They say the drug caused her to have repeated contractions that cut off the flow of blood and oxygen to the baby through the umbilical cord, causing his death. McCluskey testified earlier this week that the drug was actually prescribed by another doctor.
Homicide charge
YOUNGSTOWN -- Cortland Allen, 87, of West Earle Avenue is charged with vehicular homicide in the Oct. 24 death of Gloria Tucker on the South Side. Tucker, 75, of West Glenaven Avenue, was a passenger in a car driven by her husband, Cullen Tucker, 77. The Tuckers, who had their grandson in the car, were traveling south on Hillman Street to a drugstore. The crash happened when Allen, traveling north on Hillman, attempted to turn onto Chicago Avenue and entered the Tuckers' path, police said. Allen was issued a court summons Wednesday. He will be in municipal court Nov. 12.
Shoe store robbed
YOUNGSTOWN -- Three large windows were smashed at Payless Shoe Store on McCartney Road early today and an unspecified number of shoes and purses stolen, police said. Officers were sent to the East Side store when an alarm sounded at 3:05 a.m. It appears as though a vehicle was used to ram the windows, police said.
Illegal-sale charge
YOUNGSTOWN -- Maria D. Alvarez, 45, of Glenwood Avenue is charged with the illegal sale of alcohol and tobacco to an underage person. Wednesday evening, vice cops sent a 16-year-old into the drive-through at Eddie's Party Shop at 2204 Market St. The teenager came out with a 16-ounce can of beer and pack of cigarettes, police said. In May, Alvarez was convicted of illegal sale of alcohol, amended from sale to an underage person. Municipal Judge Robert P. Milich imposed a $100 fine.
BB gun at school
YOUNGSTOWN -- A BB gun that resembles a semiautomatic handgun was found Wednesday in a boy's bookbag at The Rayen School, police said. A 17-year-old North Truesdale Avenue boy was suspended, turned over to his father and told that the matter would be turned over to the police department's juvenile division.
Concealed weapon
STRUTHERS -- Donald J. Knight, 24, of East Indianola Avenue, Youngstown, will be sentenced Dec. 6 after being found guilty of carrying a concealed weapon. Knight was on trial Monday in municipal court. He was charged May 11 after a traffic stop. Court documents say police discovered a .22-caliber revolver and seven rounds of ammunition under the driver's seat of the car Knight was driving.
Reality Checkpoint
YOUNGSTOWN -- A presentation of Reality Checkpoint, a free program for teens and parents designed to create awareness and prevent injuries and fatalities caused by motor vehicle crashes, will be from 5:45 to 9 p.m. Nov. 18 in St. Elizabeth Health Center's Finnegan Auditorium. Reality Checkpoint, developed by local diversion programs, law enforcement and courts, is a factual and graphic program designed to show teens the reality of car crashes and drinking and driving, including such topics as going to court and jail, the anatomy of a crash, what happens at the hospital and the coroner's notification.
Assault, robbery trial
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jury selection began Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in the trial of two men accused of slashing and robbing a woman last year at a bank on South Raccoon Road. Jacob DiCarlo, 22, of Ayrshire Drive, and Michael Kapsouris, 25, of South Raccoon Road, are each charged with felonious assault and aggravated robbery.