Ex-dancer enters plea

Ex-dancer enters plea
YOUNGSTOWN -- Heather Wilcox of Boardman, once an exotic dancer at Da-Bing on Market Street, pleaded no contest Wednesday in municipal court to a charge of disorderly conduct. Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly fined the 25-year-old Maple Avenue woman $100, gave her 30 days in jail and suspended it all.
The judge imposed six months' reporting probation and added a restriction of no lap dancing at the restaurant's Champagne and VIP rooms. Wilcox and others were arrested by vice squad officers in June at Da-Bing after improper conduct was observed.
Shot fired at car
STRUTHERS -- A 28-year-old city man told police that another man had chased him in a car and opened fire on him. The man, who is white, said he was driving his blue Cavalier on Midlothian Blvd. at about 12:30 a.m. Monday when he saw a 34-year-old woman he knew walking with a black man.
He yelled a racial slur at the man, who entered a dark-colored Cadillac, tailgated him and fired a gunshot.
Charged with felonies
CAMPBELL -- A 39-year-old Youngstown woman faces five felony charges after she and her boyfriend were accused of hitting a police officer during a struggle that followed a traffic stop.
Karen L. Wess, of Ayers Street, was arraigned in municipal court Tuesday on charges of obstructing justice, assault, carrying a concealed weapon, tampering with evidence and obstructing official business, court officials said. Wess and her boyfriend were stopped on Reed Avenue at about 11:15 a.m. Sunday as the boyfriend drove a motorcycle, police reports show.
Police said he was stopped because officers were aware of outstanding warrants for his arrest. After the stop, both attempted to flee and struck Patrolman David Wilson, 28, he said. During the struggle, Wess took a gun from her boyfriend's pants and placed it in her pocket. The boyfriend fled.
Suit dismissal upheld
YOUNGSTOWN -- A federal judge has denied Ronald Skowron's request to change the verdict in his lawsuit against former Sheriff Phil Chance and three deputies.
Skowron, a former deputy sheriff, filed the suit last year in U.S. District Court, Cleveland, alleging that he was wrongly prosecuted in 1998 and that he suffered retaliation for supporting Chance's political rival.
After Judge Lesley Wells dismissed the suit in August, Skowron's attorney, Alan Belkin, asked her to reconsider. Judge Wells rejected that motion this week.
Murder trial begins
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jury selection began Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for Tommy Williams, 23, of Meadow Street, who is charged with murder.
Authorities say he killed 22-year-old Michael Booker of West Rockwell Road, Austintown, outside Pal Joey's Lounge on East Midlothian Boulevard in April 2000. His first trial in April ended with a hung jury.
Limiting union pickets
LISBON -- Labor unions protesting construction of a facility at a Leetonia industrial park are limited to four pickets at the site. Judge C. Ashley Pike of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, recently granted a request from General Extrusions Inc. of Boardman to reduce pickets at entrances to the park, located along state Route 344.
Several area construction unions posted the pickets, claiming GEI failed to give union companies a fair chance to obtain work installing machinery in a $15 million plant the company is constructing. GEI denies the claim, and has said the larger number of pickets was hindering access to the construction site. Tires of at least three vehicles entering the park were damaged since the pickets appeared, but no charges have been filed.
Two face charges
CAMPBELL -- A 19-year-old Campbell woman and 22-year-old Youngstown man face various charges after police found a stolen, loaded handgun in the car the woman drove. Michelle A. Martin of Kendall Avenue was arraigned in municipal court Tuesday on charges of fleeing and eluding, reckless operation and speeding, court officials said.
Pedro Rivera of Funston Street was arraigned on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and receiving stolen property. Police reports show that Martin drove a burgundy Nissan at 64 mph in a 35 mph zone on Wilson Avenue at about 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
When officers attempted to pull her over, Martin fled, nearly colliding with two poles near Center Street before stopping. Police found a loaded 9mm handgun in the car. It had been reported stolen in Youngstown.