Teens charged with stealing gas caps

Teens charged withstealing gas caps
YOUNGSTOWN -- Three 16-year-old Ursuline High School students each face at least 27 counts of misdemeanor theft after police found the teens with stolen gas caps on the city's West Side.
The teens, with addresses on North Glenellen Avenue in Youngstown, Struthers-Liberty Road in Campbell and London Drive in Austintown, were in a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina when stopped by officers at about 3 a.m. today on South Hazelwood Avenue. Police said officers found 27 fuel caps in the car, including at least one from a tractor-trailer.
The teens were arrested on theft charges and each issued a court summons for curfew violation and released to their parents. The vehicle, which had been towed upon the boys' arrests, was returned to the mother of one teen. The fuel caps were given to the teens' parents to be returned.
Search for robber
AUSTINTOWN -- Police are looking for a young white man accused of using a knife to rob Tropitan Tanning Center on South Raccoon Road Tuesday night.
A Tropitan employee told police that a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a black bandanna over his face walked into the store as it was closing at about 9:30 p.m. She said the man pointed a 4-inch knife at her and demanded money. The employee said she gave the man money and he ran out of the store.
The amount stolen was undisclosed.
Trial continued
STRUTHERS -- The trial of Ray Guzman, 29, of Creed Street, which was slated for Monday, was continued until Sept. 16.
Guzman is charged with theft after several homeowners accused him of taking deposits for new floor coverings and not installing them. Victims from Struthers and Poland Township have filed reports against Guzman and Guzman's Floors, 2791 E. Midlothian Blvd.
Sentenced in rape case
YOUNGSTOWN -- Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced a city man to nine years in prison Wednesday after the man pleaded guilty to rape.
Gollin Freeman, 27, had sexual contact with a 7-year-old girl in March 1999, said Deena Calabrese, an assistant prosecutor.
Hearing postponed
STRUTHERS -- The preliminary hearing of Christopher Gentile, 29, of Clingan Road, has been postponed until Sept. 4. He had been scheduled to appear in court Monday on charges of conveying drugs into a detention facility.
Gentile was charged in July after Struthers police confiscated a tablet of OxyContin that they said Gentile had hidden in his sock when he was booked into Struthers jail on drug charges filed by the Mahoning County Drug Task Force.
Gentile also had been arrested June 1 after authorities executed search warrants at his Poland home and the Struthers residence of his father and seized suspected cocaine, drug processing equipment and weapons, including a machine gun with a silencer.
Road closing
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mill Creek Park West Drive between West Glacier Drive and the drive to the Lily Pond will be closed to traffic Aug. 19 for soil testing for a sewer project.
Arsonist gets 2 years
WARREN -- A 40-year-old Liberty man who pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated arson was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison.
Robert Prater, no street address available, set fire to his girlfriend's Liberty Township apartment April 15.
Ham radio festival
CHAMPION -- The 45th annual Warren Amateur Radio Association Hamfest will be Sunday at Kent State University Trumbull Campus. The outdoor flea market opens at 6 a.m., and indoor sales start at 8 a.m. Admission is $5.
The hamfest offers amateur radio, computer and electronic exhibits.