Endangering charge dismissed for man

Endangering chargedismissed for man
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Charges against a man accused of leaving a 6-year-old unattended in a McDonald's restaurant have been dismissed by a Lawrence County district justice because of insufficient evidence, according to Matthew Mangino, Lawrence County district attorney.
Jeremy Lee Hurd, 19, of East Lutton Street, New Castle, had faced a charge of endangering the welfare of a child after Pennsylvania State Police were called to the Union Township McDonald's restaurant Aug. 1.
A 6-year-old boy had been left in the bathroom as Hurd and a 16-year-old left the restaurant, police said.
District Justice J.V. Lamb dismissed the charge earlier this week at a preliminary hearing.
Celebration fair set for seniors
MERCER -- The Shenango Valley Mall and the Mercer County Area Agency on Aging will sponsor their annual senior celebration from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 14.
This information and services fair will feature about 70 representatives from area health agencies, long-term care facilities, volunteer organizations, public interest groups, offices of local, state and federal government, travel industry representatives and others.
There will also be entertainment, including a senior fashion show presented by Sears, live radio broadcasts, question-and-answer forums and health and hearing screenings.
This event is free and open to the public. Prizes that will be awarded throughout the day.
For details, call the mall at (724) 346-4564 or visit www.shopshenangovalleymall.com.
Accident victim dies
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Youngstown woman involved in an early morning one-car accident Aug. 31 on state Route 11 near Tibbetts-Wick Road has died from injuries.
April D. Armour, 28, of Scioto Avenue died Thursday. She had been hospitalized at St. Elizabeth Medical Center since the accident.
April Armour's older sister Adrienne Armour, 32, of Scioto Avenue, also in the car at the time of the accident, died Aug. 31. Services for both sisters will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Special prosecutor
YOUNGSTOWN -- John Mitchell, an assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor, has been named special prosecutor for criminal charges against James A. Philomena, former Mahoning County prosecutor. Mitchell replaces Robert A. Glickman, another assistant Cuyahoga County prosecutor who had to step aside because he was recently appointed judge in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Philomena, 54, was indicted in June 2000 on 12 counts of bribery, two counts of perjury and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. He is awaiting trial. He is already serving a four-year sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to fixing cases while he was in office.
Vacant home set on fire
YOUNGSTOWN -- Some type of flammable material was used at 1:13 a.m. today to torch a vacant 21/2 story frame house at 2321 Logan Ave., said Battalion Chief James Flynn.
The fire started on the front porch and did about $8,000 damage, which Flynn said is nearly a total loss.
He said the house, which has been vacant for quite a while, had been set on fire before.
Scholarship winner
NILES -- Billy Martin Jr., 11, has won a $5,000 Kohl's scholarship for his Bite the Bullet program.
Billy, the son of Bill and Melissa Martin, started the program last year to outfit area police dogs with bulletproof vests after reading about an Ashtabula County police dog that shot and killed in the line of duty.
Billy will be honored during a demonstration at 2 p.m. Saturday at Kohl's Department Store, Niles-Cortland Road S.E., featuring the Niles and Warren police dogs. The Niles boy is one of 10 national winners in the Kohl's Kids Who Care program.
Man arrested in murder
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 30-year-old city man was arrested shortly after noon Thursday in the 1000 block of Parkview Avenue and jailed on warrants charging him with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary in a homicide on Labor Day. Melvin E. Hughes of Carroll Street man is charged in the death of Eugene McKinney, 25, who suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was found dead on his kitchen floor at 464 Ferndale Ave. at 3 a.m. Monday. McKinney's girlfriend told police McKinney answered the door, and the gunman, dressed in black, including a stocking cap, forced his way in. The intruder struggled with McKinney as they moved toward the kitchen and started shooting, reports said. Two spent cartridges, possibly from an assault rifle, were found near the refrigerator.