Struck by van, woman dies

Struck by van,woman dies
YOUNGSTOWN -- Cheri Rockney, 48, of Kenmore Court, Austintown, was killed today when a dark green Pontiac Montana van jumped the curb in the 1200 block of Oak Street and struck her on the sidewalk, said Detective Sgt. Patricia Garcar, an accident investigator.
Rockney, who was visiting friends in the East Side neighborhood, had been walking to a store about midnight, Garcar said. Information supplied by witnesses led police to the home of a 43-year-old Austintown man, the investigator said.
The man was taken to police headquarters downtown for questioning and videotaping. The van was placed in the police garage. The right side of the van's windshield is caved in and shattered. Garcar said no charges would be filed today and the investigation continues. She added that alcohol was a factor.
Shots fired
AUSTINTOWN -- Police say they heard four or five gunshots Thursday night near Ohio Van and Truck Supply on Mahoning Avenue. An officer approached a teen and a man who were standing in front of the business after the shots were fired around 10:42 p.m.
The man fled from police, losing his shoe at the business. The teen, 17, of West Heights Avenue, Youngstown, said he didn't know the man.
Woman reports rape
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 36-year-old Hillsville, Pa., woman reported being raped at gunpoint outside a bar on the South Side two days ago but was unable to identify the bar when police drove her around Thursday night.
The woman said she had driven to Youngstown on Wednesday evening intending to visit her husband, from whom she is separated, but instead ended up at a bar, possibly on Market or Hillman streets, Oakhill or Glenwood avenues. The woman told police that she was approached by a man with a gun when she left the bar around 9:30 p.m.
Update on Asente case
GIRARD -- A ruling on an interstate custody battle involving a Girard couple remains pending.
A spokeswoman from the Kentucky Supreme Court said Thursday that no ruling had been issued in the case of Moore vs. Asente. Rich and Cheryl Asente of Sioux Trail are fighting to retain custody of 4-year-old Justin, who was adopted by the couple in February 1998 from biological parents Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning of Kentucky.
The Kentucky couple changed their minds, and courts in Ohio and Kentucky have been hearing arguments since. The Asentes previously adopted the Kentucky couple's older son, Joey, who is Justin's brother. Moore and Dorning gave Joey up for adoption in 1995, and have not asked for custody of him.
Officials from Kentucky have said the average length of time for a ruling to be issued after a hearing is six months, but some cases have taken as long as 18 months. The earliest a ruling could be released is in September, because the Kentucky Supreme Court only releases rulings one day each month.
Tried to fill prescription
LIBERTY -- Police arrested a Vienna Township man they say tried to fill a bogus prescription at the Giant Eagle Pharmacy on Belmont Avenue.
Police said Kevin Chuirazzi, 38, of Warren Avenue Southeast, tried to fill a prescription for Percoset at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. When the pharmacist called the doctor for verification, he was informed the prescription had been changed. As officers were booking Chuirazzi and searching him, they found four tablets of Valium and six Elavil tablets, for which Chuirazzi could produce no prescription or a proper pill container.
Chuirazzi was arraigned Thursday in Girard Municipal Court and released after posting a $2,500 bond.
Parking prohibited
HUBBARD -- Parking will be prohibited on North Main Street beginning Monday and lasting until next year.
Because of the North Main waterline project, parking will be banned on both sides of the street from the downtown square to Myron Street. The ban is in effect until Jan. 8, 2003.