STRUTHERS Police seek suspect in bar robbery case

The bar owner was treated for a deep cut after being pistol-whipped.
STRUTHERS -- Two juveniles are in custody and one adult is being sought in the robbery Thursday night of the Wagon Wheel Bar, 88 S. Bridge St., during which patrons were terrorized by two gunmen and the bar owner was pistol-whipped.
Thomas Fitzpatrick, 54, sustained a deep cut to the top of his head in the beating, police said.
Two ski-masked males -- one believed to be 28 years old and armed with a 9 mm pistol, and the other believed to be 14 and toting a .22-caliber rifle -- ordered everyone to the floor about 10:38 p.m.
The adult put the pistol to people's heads, demanding to know who the owner was.
Fitzpatrick acknowledged ownership, and the gunman ordered him to the office and demanded that he open the safe.
After Fitzpatrick said he didn't know the combination to the safe and it didn't contain any money, the gunman pistol-whipped him, dragged him to the cash register, made him open it, and took the cash.
The boy with the rifle went from patron to patron, demanding each person's money, and the gunmen fled to a waiting car driven by a 17-year-old boy.
The car fled across the Bridge Street bridge.
Witness: A patron, who slipped out the bar's back door during the robbery, drove to the police station and gave police a description of the car and suspects.
Patrolman Tom Granchie spotted the car and chased it along Wilson Avenue at more than 70 mph until the driver lost control as it attempted to turn onto Jackson Drive in Campbell. The car went up and down a 40-foot embankment before stopping.
The adult fled on foot, dropping the pistol in nearby weeds.
Granchie arrested the two juveniles, who are in the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center charged with aggravated robbery and felonious assault.
Police found the rifle in the car. Both guns were loaded and each had a round in the chamber, Granchie said.