Woman injured in fire

Woman injured in fire
BAZETTA -- A 59-year-old woman was in serious condition in MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland this morning after being injured in a fire in her one-story frame home at 636 state Route 305 about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. Firefighters rescued Charlotte Clenenden and saved her dog, reports state.
The blaze, caused by an electrical short, did about $30,000 damage.
Judge denies request
WARREN -- Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court has denied John W. Smith's request to withdraw his guilty plea in the June 1991 killing of Larry Graber.
Smith, 30, of Cortland, filed the motion last month, citing ineffective counsel.
The prosecutor's office argued Smith's request had no merit.
This is the second time Smith, who was convicted of fatally beating the 54-year-old Howland Springs Elementary School principal, asked to withdraw his guilty plea.
In 1998, he argued he was on prescription drugs for depression and did not make an intelligent plea.
Judge McKay sentenced Smith to 15 years to life in prison Aug. 26, 1991.
Smith told police he beat Graber, whom he had met at a gay bar in Warren, after the principal made a sexual advance toward him in a wooded area at Mosquito Lake.
Facing assault charge
NILES -- A Bazetta Township man is accused of throwing a beer bottle at a car, injuring an infant.
Terrence A. Blackshere, 24, of Durst-Clagg Road was arraigned Tuesday in municipal court on a felonious assault charge. He is being held in the Trumbull County jail on a probation violation with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 23.
Weathersfield police said Jason DeLuca of Liberty was driving east Thursday night on U.S. Route 422 near Vienna Road when the passenger in a car behind threw a beer bottle.
The bottle shattered the rear window of DeLuca's car and his month-old son was cut on his hands and face by flying glass.
Museum's open house
FOWLER -- The township historical society open house at the David and Melissa Butts Museum will be Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.
The museum is at state routes 193 and 305. Parking is available at First Methodist Church.
The society meets at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 in the community center.
Hearings set for couple
NILES -- Preliminary hearings are set for Oct. 23 in municipal court for a Warren couple charged in a convenience store robbery.
Billy Z. Tayala, 23, of Porter Street is being held on $24,500 in bonds on charges of robbery, fleeing and eluding, reckless operation, driving on a suspended license, failure to display a license plate and a seat-belt violation.
His wife, Robin Wheeler, 21, was released on bond on a charge of conspiracy to robbery. Both appeared in court Tuesday.
Police said the couple robbed Dairy Mart at 419 S. Main Street on Friday. The store alarm sounded as they left and police chased them into Warren, where they were caught.
Facing trespass charge
MINERAL RIDGE -- Township police Capt. Michael Naples said William Cupan, 20, of Illinois Avenue, Weathersfield Township, was charged this morning with criminal trespass and possession of criminal tools.
Naples said police were called to a Rosalyn Drive address about 3 a.m. and found Cupan ransacking a car. Police said they found stolen checks in Cupan's car.
Innocent plea
CLEVELAND -- Robert F. Elias, a Canfield accountant accused of cheating on his taxes and helping Richard D. Goldberg, a disbarred and imprisoned malpractice attorney, underreport his income by nearly $3 million, pleaded innocent at arraignment in federal court Tuesday.
Elias, 58, of Blueberry Hill Drive, is free on $50,000 unsecured bond.
His travel is restricted to northeastern Ohio. He may travel for business to Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and West Virginia with permission.
No trial date was set.