STRUTHERS 3 teens receive terms in robbery

Two teens robbed bar patrons at gunpoint while a third waited in a getaway car, police said.
STRUTHERS -- Three Youngstown teens involved in the armed robbery of several patrons at a South Bridge Street bar have been sentenced in juvenile court.
Ryan McGee, 15, of Superior Street was ordered to serve seven years in juvenile detention, said Struthers Detective Simone Ugolini. Kevin Clinkscale, 16, of Coronado Avenue was ordered to serve 18 months. Corey Reese, 18, of Clearmont Drive served 30 to 90 days and was placed on probation.
McGee and Clinkscale are accused of entering the Wagon Wheel Bar at about 10:40 p.m. Oct. 25, 2001, with McGee carrying a rifle and Clinkscale carrying a handgun, while Reese waited outside at the nearby Struthers Athletic Club in a white Chevrolet Malibu.
McGee is accused of placing the rifle to the head of a man outside the bar and ordering him inside and to the ground before ordering other patrons to the ground while pointing the rifle at their heads.
Witnesses said Clinkscale jumped over the bar and held a handgun to the face of a man behind the bar, asking if he was the bar owner. When the owner came forward, Clinkscale put the gun to his head and ordered him to a safe. When the owner said he could not open it, Clinkscale hit his head with the pistol, pointed it at him and threatened to kill him before dragging him by a hooded sweat shirt to the cash register, witnesses said. The owner opened the drawer and the teen took money from it.
Patrons robbed
Another man saw the activity from a rear room and tried to warn others in the room when McGee put the rifle to his head, ordered him to the floor and placed the gun at his back. McGee then stole money from the people on the ground, witnesses said.
McGee then went into the back room, ordering patrons there to the ground. One dialed 911 on her cellular phone, and McGee took it from her and placed it in his pocket, unaware that the call was active. The Mahoning County dispatch center recorded the rest of the episode.
Two witnesses saw the teens flee in the white car. They led police on a car chase into Campbell, with Reese losing control on Jackson Drive at Wilson Avenue and crashing into an embankment where Clinkscale fled.
Officers from Struthers, Campbell, Lowellville, Coitsville, Boardman, Poland Township, Poland Village and Youngstown helped search the area, but the third teen was not immediately found.
Police found a rifle, a stocking cap and a cell phone inside the car, and a handgun, ammunition and a scarf in nearby weeds.
Each of the teens made plea agreements, Ugolini said.
Clinkscale, who appeared in juvenile court last week, was the last to be sentenced. Ugolini said his sentence was lower than McGee's because he had fled and was more difficult to place at the scene. The other teens were arrested at the crash, but Clinkscale was arrested two days later. Reese had cooperated with investigators, Ugolini said.