Man dies of gunshot

Man dies of gunshot
YOUNGSTOWN -- An 18-year-old man has died after a shooting on the city's North Side.
Police said Willie Chappell suffered a gunshot wound below his navel. He was found sitting on a chair on the porch of an apartment building at 930 Martin Luther King Blvd. around 11:40 p.m. Wednesday.
Personnel at St. Elizabeth Health Center said the case was sent to the Mahoning County coroner this morning.
When police arrived at the home, a neighbor said Chappell told him he had shot himself and the gun was in bushes outside the apartment building, reports show. Police recovered the handgun.
Neighbors told police they heard one gunshot.
Arrested in violence
YOUNGSTOWN -- City police arrested a 25-year-old South Side man after his live-in girlfriend told officers he had fired one shot in their East Myrtle Avenue home during an argument about money and baby-sitting, police reports show.
The woman, 17, said the couple's two children were in the home at the time of the 12:40 p.m. Wednesday shooting.
The man was at the home when police arrived, but fled on foot. He was arrested after a short chase.
He faces charges of domestic violence, discharging a firearm into a habitation and resisting arrest.
Fighting pit bull killed
YOUNGSTOWN -- A city police officer shot and killed a pit bull on the city's South Side.
The officer said he was patrolling Oak Hill Avenue near Willis Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday when he saw a man walking a black pit bull on a chain.
A brown pit bull was attacking the dog, police reports show. The officer said he tried to break the brown dog away several times before using a shotgun to kill it.
Toy-poodle scam
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 42-year-old New York woman reported to city police Wednesday that a South Side man pretending to sell her a toy poodle scammed her out of $200.
The woman said the man, operating from Gucci Pooch on Indianola Avenue, promised to sell her a poodle that was advertised on the Internet, police reports show.
She told police that since she mailed $200 down payment for the dog, he does not answer his home telephone, his work phone has been disconnected and the Internet site has been closed.
Printer reports thefts
YOUNGSTOWN -- The owner of a South Side printing company has reported to city police that two employees who ran his business while he was ill stole $100,000 from him.
The man said the Quality Printing Co. employees took over in 1997. They said they would buy the Glenwood Avenue business but financing never came through, he said.
He went to city police Wednesday, saying he had received bank statements showing that he had defaulted on a $35,000 credit line, police reports show.
He said he also discovered that he is past due on $65,000 in credit card debt. The two employees had opened the accounts without his permission, the man told police.
He said several pieces of machinery are missing from the business.
The two employees have been fired.
No rush on decision
CANFIELD -- School officials here have a few months to decide if they want to renew the contract of Richard Duffett, an assistant Canfield High School football coach facing drug charges. Duffett also is a candidate for Mahoning County Republican Party Chairman.
Dante Zambrini, the director of administrative services for the Canfield schools, said assistant football coaches work on a limited contract from late summer until November. Zambrini said the school board won't hire assistant coaches for the 2002 season until later this summer.
He stressed that the district considers Duffett innocent until proved guilty. Reports state that Boardman police found suspected marijuana and suspected marijuana smoking devices in Duffett's car April 10.
Car strikes girl, 5
SALEM -- A 5-year-old girl was treated at Salem Community Hospital after being struck by a car while riding her bicycle. Police said the accident occurred about 3 p.m. Wednesday when Alexis Cusick, 386 N. Lundy Ave., rode in front of a car being driven by a Salem man. The accident occurred between East Third and East Fourth streets, police said. No charges have been filed.