Motorcyclist killed

Motorcyclist killed
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kenneth Duecaster, 41, of Vermont Avenue died Sunday at St. Elizabeth Health Center after his motorcycle crashed in the 3100 block of Dearborn Street.
Police who arrived at the scene at 5:55 p.m. found the motorcycle in the street, dented and scratched and its handlebars broken. The cause of the crash was not immediately available.
Austintown burglary
AUSTINTOWN -- A burglar used a car to ram open the doors of three units at Blakes Mini Storage on South Raccoon Road after using the electronic gate security code to enter the property, police reports say.
Attempts were also made to cut exterior padlocks off five doors and the locking mechanism on two others. Renters of the storage rooms were contacted when the break-in was discovered Saturday, but an inventory of stolen property is not complete, reports say.
Bar manager arrested
AUSTINTOWN -- Police arrested the manager of Newt's Place bar after a raid which uncovered cocaine and possible evidence of the manufacture of the recreational drug GHB, reports say.
Kenneth Collins III, 35, who lived behind the bar at 104 N. Meridian Road, was found sitting on a bar stool at 5:39 p.m. Friday with suspected crack, powdered cocaine and GHB is his pockets, reports say.
Reports say police and state liquor enforcement agents also seized several bottles of liquid from the kitchen, a coffee grinder, chemical test kits, a computer and evidence of a NASCAR betting pool. Collins was charged with abusing cocaine, permitting drug abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia, and the bar was issued a violation notice from the investigative unit of the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
Police seek vehicle
LIBERTY -- Area police are attempting to find a four-wheel-drive vehicle that led them on a chase.
Township police reported they were at a gas station at Belmont Avenue and Gypsy Lane about 11:15 a.m. Sunday. Officers checked a license plate on a Chevrolet Blazer and learned the vehicle had been stolen in Columbus. Two men were in the Blazer.
The Blazer turned onto Gypsy. It struck a cruiser driven by Patrol Officer Kenneth Kovach, who was trying to stop it. The Blazer sped away and led police on a chase on several Youngstown North Side streets.
The driver used the Blazer's four-wheel feature and lost police after driving into some woods off Burlington Street.
Police said the police car had minor damage.
Rash of vehicle theftsreported in Niles
NILES -- Police are investigating thefts of seven vehicles reported over the weekend.
Six of the thefts occurred Friday. A 1994 Chevy S10 and 1990 Dodge Caravan were stolen sometime during the day from the lot of MCI Worldcom, Youngstown-Warren Road (U.S. Route 422), according to police. The Dodge was recovered about 4 p.m. Friday in the Eastwood Mall parking lot, with the driver's side window smashed and the steering column "peeled," ripped open so the vehicle could be started without a key, police said.
A 1989 Chevy Silverado was taken between 3 and 4 p.m. from near Pet Supplies Plus, Youngstown-Warren Road. A 1984 Buick LeSabre was taken from the lot at the mall near Target on Friday morning, a 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass was reported stolen between 3:30 and 8:30 p.m. from the Great East Plaza and a 1986 Cadillac Deville was taken between 7 and 7:30 p.m. from the parking lot of Sam's Club.
A seventh car, a 1989 Geo Spectrum, was reported taken early today from the parking lot at 11 Circle St. but was recovered about 2:15 this morning in Newton Falls.
Little damage from fire
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A porch fire at a vacant West Sheridan Street house did not cause any major damage, said Fire Chief James Donston. Firefighters were able to extinguish it before it moved to other parts of the home at 2:05 a.m. Friday, he said. The home is owned by Kirk Alfonso of New Brighton and was vacant because it was being remodeled, Donston said.