Teen charged in assault

Teen charged in assault
YOUNGSTOWN -- A big 15-year-old boy who struggled with two police officers after school Monday afternoon was taken to the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Center.
The Southern Boulevard boy, a ninth-grader at Woodrow Wilson High School on the South Side, faces charges of resisting arrest and assault on police officers. The boy approached the cruiser after the officers had disbursed a crowd of about 50 students walking down the middle of Erie Street.
The officers told the teen-agers to walk on the sidewalk so no one would get hit by a car. The boy, who returned to the road and walked toward the cruiser, refused to move, police said.
The boy -- 6 foot 2 inches and 292 pounds -- used an elbow to hit one officer in the shoulder and a fist to hit the other officer in the cheek, reports show.
2 report being robbed
CAMPBELL -- Two men from Struthers told police they were robbed of $1,200 at gunpoint after they gave a third man a ride early Monday.
Police reports say the men picked the third man up on Robinson Road.
As they were driving him to an unspecified address in the Kirwan Homes development, the third man pulled out a handgun, held it to one of the victim's heads and demanded money.
After the men handed over their cash, the third man fled the vehicle. The robbery occurred around 12:30 a.m.
Phony money found
CAMPBELL -- A clerk at the BP station, 735 McCartney Road, was quick to spot phony money a customer used to try to buy cigarettes.
Police reports say the clerk immediately recognized the money to be counterfeit when a customer handed it to her around 1:37 p.m. Friday.
After marking the bill, the clerk informed the customer that the money was counterfeit and that she was calling police.
The man reportedly told her that someone had given him the $20 bill to buy cigarettes. The clerk told him that he could wait and explain to police. He declined and left the store.
Arrested in break-in
STRUTHERS -- George Louis Nitzsky Jr., 38, of 496 Fourth St., was arraigned Monday in Struthers Municipal Court on charges of breaking and entering.
Police arrested Nitzsky around 2:15 a.m. Sunday after they found him hiding behind a video game at the arcade inside Valley Sports, 276 State St.
Police searched Valley Sports after an alarm company notified them that the building's complex motion alarm had been set off.
Nitzsky apparently entered the building through an air vent. Police discovered a 25-foot wooden ladder against the building directly under the vent along with a hammer that may have been used to gain entry.
Nitzsky is being held on $10,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for 10:45 a.m. Friday.
Probing card's charges
STRUTHERS -- Police are investigating the unauthorized use of a debit card after the owner discovered $224.55 in charges billed by a pornographic chat line.
Police reports say the man discovered the problem Saturday morning after a bank transaction revealed money missing from his account.
Upon investigation, the bank reported that three charges of $74.85 each had been billed by the chat line. The calls originated from two Boardman telephone numbers and were placed Friday.
Stolen from apartment
BOARDMAN -- A township man told police $4,000 in cash, including $300 in coins, and more than $700 worth of jewelry were stolen from his Boardman-Canfield Road apartment between 5 p.m. Thursday and 9 p.m. Sunday.
The man told police he lost his keys Thursday while working at Glenwood Auto Sales.
When he returned home Sunday evening, he discovered the cash missing along with a $600 Movado watch, $100 silver necklace and $60 black quartz watch. There was no sign of forced entry.
Endorsing sales tax
YOUNGSTOWN -- Grow Mahoning Valley has voted to endorse a 0.5-percent Mahoning County sales tax renewal on the May 7 ballot.
The endorsement is based on the fact that a portion of tax revenue has been used for infrastructure and other economic development projects, which are the kind of projects Grow Mahoning Valley was formed to promote.