Facing drug charges

Facing drug charges
CLEVELAND -- A federal grand jury has indicted William J. Isom, 67, of Burkey Road, Austintown, on a charge of attempted possession with intent to distribute 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) of cocaine. If convicted, Isom faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison to a maximum 40 years and $2 million fine.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Youngstown and is being prosecuted by Joseph M. Pinjuh, an assistant U.S. attorney.
3 to appear in court
CANFIELD -- The three men accused of attacking a herd of dairy cattle last June will appear in Canfield court at 11 a.m. Friday. The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence for the case to be bound over to the grand jury.
Patrick J. Lane of Dartmouth Avenue, Ryan A. Stevens of Topaz Circle and Ryan C. Russo of Squires Court are accused of using a baseball bat and fluorescent light bulbs to beat cows owned by David and Kathy Moff of Beaver Township. Several cows sustained broken ribs and cuts during the attack.
The men could be charged with felony vandalism. Lane and Stevens were both 19 at the time of the attack; Russo was 18.
Drug charges filed
POLAND -- Township police charged a 40-year-old Mercer, Pa., man with misdemeanor possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop earlier this week. The man was pulled over for a traffic violation Tuesday, and officers smelled marijuana in the car.
Police found suspected marijuana cigarettes, a wooden pipe with marijuana residue, a ceramic pipe with marijuana residue and small plastic bags with trace amounts of suspected marijuana inside the car.
Benefit for food bank
YOUNGSTOWN -- A live cooking show slated for 7 to 9 p.m. Friday and Jan. 18 at The Youngstown Club, 201 E. Commerce St., will benefit Second Harvest Foodbank.
The show, sponsored by the Youngstown Club and Pampered Chef consultant, Phyllis Echement, is part of The Pampered Chef's 11th annual Round-Up from the Heart campaign to end hunger and is open to the public.
Sales of kitchen products during the event will benefit Second Harvest, which provides food to 200 member agencies throughout Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
2 charged in thefts
AUSTINTOWN -- Police arrested two men on theft charges early today while working a detail at the Giant Eagle on Mahoning Avenue.
One of the men, 23, of South Brockway Avenue, Youngstown, took 24 cans of baby formula from the store without paying about 12:02 a.m., police said. The man ran from police and was later arrested in front of the Pizza Hut on Mahoning. Police also charged him with resisting arrest.
The other man, 42, of Warren, took three cartons of cigarettes from the store without paying at about 1:37 a.m. He then ran to a car and drove through a red light onto Mahoning, police said. Police pulled the man over shortly after he ran the red light. He also was cited for reckless operation of his car and failure to wear a seat belt.
Warden testifies
AKRON (AP) -- The warden of the state's only super-maximum security prison defended the prison's practice of keeping inmates in solitary confinement 23 hours a day and requiring them to be shackled when they are outside their cells.
"I feel very strongly that we are achieving our mission," warden Todd Ishee testified Wednesday. "First is always security. We've had no escapes and no serious assaults."
The conditions at the Youngstown prison of state Route 616 have been challenged in a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The suit alleges the conditions at the prison are unnecessarily harsh, and that the state uses an arbitrary process for deciding what inmates are kept there.
Beaver OKs rezoning
NORTH LIMA -- Beaver Township trustees voted to rezone a parcel of land at South Avenue and Miley Road from residential to commercial.
The Mahoning County Planning Commission and the Beaver Township Zoning Commission both recommended the change be approved. Property owner Robert Begala told the trustees at a hearing Tuesday he plans to tear down the house on the property and build a retail food establishment.