Station technician faces charge of voyeurism

Station technician facescharge of voyeurism
AUSTINTOWN -- A pretrial hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. March 4 for John Hoppa Jr., 33, of Lanterman Road, who is accused of videotaping a partially dressed girl at Fitch High School. He is charged with voyeurism and tampering with evidence. Police reports state that he destroyed a videotape that was to be used as evidence.
Hoppa was arraigned Tuesday evening in Mahoning County Court here. No plea was accepted because the charges are felonies. His arrest resulted from a complaint of suspicious activity Jan. 30 at the high school. The complaint was filed with police Friday.
Schools Superintendent Rich Denamen said Hoppa is a part-time technician for Channel 19, the township's public access television station. He is on leave, but Denamen did not indicate if it's paid or unpaid. Hoppa has been with the district for several years, and criminal background checks did not indicate any problem, Denamen said.
The activity occurred in a Channel 19 equipment room. Signs prohibiting students from changing in the room have been posted, Denamen said.
Schoolchildren pitch in
Two area schools are involved in the American Red Cross' new Pint Size Hero Program blood drives for which elementary and middle school pupils recruit adults to donate blood.
In addition to recruiting donors, the pupils serve as volunteers at the drive, either as part of registration or by serving refreshments. In addition, all donors receive thank-you cards from the children.
Area schools that plan Pint Size Hero blood drives are:
* Watson Elementary School, 215 Idaho Road, Austintown, Friday, 3 to 8 p.m.
* St. Joseph the Provider School, 633 Porter Ave., Campbell, Feb. 19, 2 to 7 p.m.
Red Cross officials say the program teaches children about the importance of donating blood, and it is a blood drive that contributes to the more than 900 pints of blood needed daily in northeast Ohio.
Gun found in home
AUSTINTOWN -- A 60-year-old township woman delivered a .22-caliber revolver to the police department after finding it next to a chair in her home on Riblett Road.
The woman told police that her 33-year-old son had found the gun in a bar and brought it home. She did not want the firearm in her house.
A check through the National Computer Information Center shows no record of the gun.
Domestic violence case
YOUNGSTOWN -- George C. Williams, 45, remained jailed this morning in the Mahoning County Justice Center on a $5,000 cash or surety bond after his arraignment on domestic violence charges. Williams, of Stewart Street on the city's East Side, was arraigned before Judge Robert Milich of municipal court Wednesday on accusations that he beat his live-in girlfriend until her eyes were swollen shut.
City police responding to the home at about 7 a.m. Wednesday found the woman in a bed hiding beneath covers, her face bloodied and swollen with cuts under her eyes. She said Williams had beaten her during the night and refused to let her leave.
Williams, who admitted the beating to police, had refused to let them in the residence, swearing and threatening them during a 10-minute standoff.
Judge Milich has ordered that Williams have no contact with the victim if he posts bond.
Burger King robbed
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man threatened to kill two Burger King employees as he took an undisclosed amount of money from the South Side restaurant, city police said.
A woman opening a side door of the 15 W. Midlothian Blvd. building at about 5:20 a.m. Wednesday said someone ran up behind her, pressed a hard object to her back and told her to open the door without looking back. The man followed her inside where another female employee was working. The robber told them, "If I don't get the money, I'll kill you both," police reports say.
When the employees told him they did not know the combination to the safe, he took them to the front registers where one employee helped bag money while the other was held to the wall by the robber.
Family Night Out
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Associated Neighborhood Centers at McGuffey Centre will have a Family Night Out from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the Jacobs Road facility. Parents, grandparents and guardians are invited to use the center's facilities. Care and activities for children ages 5 to 12 will be provided.