Man pleads innocent

Man pleads innocent
AUSTINTOWN -- A South Raccoon Road man pleaded innocent to charges stemming from a high-speed chase Monday morning. Blase Cinque, 36, entered the plea Monday afternoon in Mahoning County Court to charges of failure to comply with an order from an officer, resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also heard a felony charge of receiving stolen property. No plea was accepted on that charge. Judge David D'Apolito set Cinque's bond at $10,000 and scheduled his next hearing for Thursday.
Police said Cinque was driving a car that sped away from an officer about 2 a.m. on Crum Road. Officers said they chased Cinque to the back yard of a Carlin Drive home, where he got out of the car and ran. He was arrested in a wooded area near Carlin Drive.
Charged in robbery
BOARDMAN -- An East Palestine man will face a charge of felony aggravated robbery after taking money and cigarettes from a convenience store here late Monday.
Reports say that the 27-year-old man entered Dairy Mart on Lockwood Boulevard just before midnight and robbed the clerk of $49 and three packs of cigarettes. The man was not armed, but held an ink pen under his shirt as if he had a weapon, police said.
He fled the store but was arrested by Youngstown police a short time later and is being held Mahoning County Jail pending charges in Boardman Area Court.
Cited for animal cruelty
YOUNGSTOWN -- Police cited Sandra Bennett, 56, of 19 N. Montgomery Ave., for animal cruelty after authorities discovered her two large pit bulls without food or water and barely able to move.
The animals, whose leashes were tangled together, were without shade and barking incessantly around 5:50 p.m. Saturday when they were discovered, police reports state. The temperature, the report notes, was 86 degrees.
The dog warden also cited Bennett for not providing proper insurance or properly confining dangerous animals.
Testosterone case
AUSTINTOWN -- A Youngstown man who police found with injectable testosterone has been given a 60-day suspended jail sentence by Judge David D'Apolito of Mahoning County Court. Mark Swantek, 26, of South Dunlap Avenue, pleaded guilty Monday to a charge of possessing drug abuse instruments. A drug abuse charge was dropped. D'Apolito also ordered Swantek to pay a $150 fine and complete 14 days of community service. Swantek also was sentenced to six months of reporting probation.
Police said they found the testosterone in Swantek's pocket, as well as two used syringes, an alcohol prep pad and bloody tissues in his car during a traffic stop April 22 on Mahoning Avenue.
Opening statement
YOUNGSTOWN -- Eddie Bryant, 25, of Cohasset Drive, faces a murder charge because of a poor police investigation, Bryant's lawyer, Mark Lavelle, said today in his opening statement to a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court jury. The defense attorney said that police never checked to see if his client owned a red cap and a jacket with a dragon emblem as described by an eyewitness. The jury was to visit the Victory Annex housing complex on the East Side where Stephen Shackleford, 29, of McBride Street, was gunned down March 19. Three other men face separate trials on charges in the case.
Paying for false alarms
GIRARD -- The police and fire departments will enforce the city's Alarm Response Fee Program beginning Aug. 1.
The program permits three false alarms per year as a result of equipment malfunction or human error at a residence or business.
A $50 fee will be charged for more than three false alarms.
The administration says enforcement of the fee will encourage alarm owners to correct system malfunctions and better monitor the operations of their alarms.
Festival to kick off
NILES -- The 69th Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church festival begins Wednesday and is open from 6 to 11 p.m. through Sunday. There will also be a matinee from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Lunch will be served daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; carryout is available.