Couple sues police

Couple sues police
EAST LIVERPOOL -- An East Liverpool couple is suing the police department, saying race was behind a police stop in March 2000.
Eva Porter and Keith Carman, both of 716 Manor Lane, say police ordered them out of their car at gunpoint, believing the car Porter was driving was stolen. When they discovered it was Porter's car, police released them.
Porter and Carman, who was a passenger, say they were stopped only because they are black. They are seeking $700,000 in damages.
Police Chief Michael McVay declined to comment on the federal discrimination suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Youngstown.
Theft reported
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Coins and electronic equipment were taken from a Possum Hollow Road home, New Beaver Borough, sometime from midnight to 1:30 p.m. Sunday. Pennsylvania State Police said the homeowner reported missing a DVD player, a videocassette recorder, a Sony PlayStation, 10 PlayStation games and $80 in coins.
Union Twp. carjacking
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Two men, one brandishing a knife and the other with a gun, used their car to force a New Castle man off the road and then took his car. Pennsylvania State Police said the man was traveling east on State Street in Union Township on Saturday when he was forced off the road by a Buick Regal. Police did not give a time. The men took the victim's 1988 Pontiac Fiero and drove north on McClelland Avenue in both cars. No one was injured.
Bus trip to Marietta
SALEM -- YWCA of Salem is accepting reservations for a May 17 charter bus trip to Marietta. Cost is $50. The trip includes a tour of a doll factory and shops in Marietta, and the Fenton Glass factory in Willamstown, W.Va. The day concludes with dinner on the Becky Thatcher, a moored stern-wheeler river boat. For more information call the YWCA at (330) 332-9944.
Ice leads to accidents
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Icy road conditions on two bridges contributed to two accidents Saturday night. Nicole Wallace, 26, of 210 W. Cherry St., was trying to make a turn on a slight bend on the Mahoning Avenue bridge when she lost control of her car on the icy road. The car crashed into a wall on the opposite side of the southbound lane at 9:06 p.m., police said. Police were called to a second bridge accident on the Falls Street Bypass at 10:05 p.m. Marcy Johnson, 35, of 534 Harbor St., was traveling east when she tried to stop and lost control of her car. Police said the car slid across four lanes of traffic and came to rest on the curb and walk wall in the northern end of the road. No serious injuries were reported in either accident.
Charged with assault
SHARON, Pa. -- Paul D. Horvath, 32, of Foster Drive, Warren, Ohio, was freed on an unsecured bond after his arrest on assault charges stemming from a disturbance at the Hot Rod Cafe on Connelly Boulevard around 2 a.m. Sunday. Police said Horvath assaulted a female employee of the bar/restaurant, then fought with security employees who tried to remove him from the building. Three patrons, two women and a man who were bystanders, were injured during the fight and were treated at Sharon Regional Health System for minor injuries, police said. Horvath was charged with three counts of simple assault, one count of aggravated assault and one count of criminal trespass.
Arson ruling
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State Police fire officials have determined that one of two suspicious fires Thursday night is arson. Trooper Robert Ryhal said a blaze at 325 Park Avenue was arson after he found gasoline cans near the window where the fire was first spotted at 11 p.m. Thursday. The vacant house, owned by Francis Wise, was destroyed by the blaze.
It was the second fire that night. Firefighters were first called to Baron Heating and Cooling on East Washington Street at 6 p.m. Ryhal said he has not been able to enter the three-story brick building because part of it had to be knocked down during the blaze to help put it out. The cause of that blaze might never be determined because it could be too dangerous to enter the building, Ryhal said.