Cafaro family members report identity thefts

Cafaro family membersreport identity thefts
YOUNGSTOWN -- Police are investigating the identity thefts of two Cafaro family members.
Police said they were called about 3 p.m. Thursday to the Cafaro Co. office on Belmont Avenue. A woman who was hired three months ago by the company had applied for credit cards using a Cafaro family member's name, according to a police report. The woman had access to Cafaro family Social Security numbers and other personal information, the report states.
Company officials discovered the problem when a credit card company contacted them about a card application that listed the suspect's address on it, the report states.
Also, another Cafaro family member, who lives in Shaker Heights, was a victim of a similar identity theft by the same employee, the report states.
House fire injures 1
AUSTINTOWN -- Township fire officials said one person was injured in a fire at a home at 186 N. Main St. about 3:17 a.m. today. They would not release the victim's name or information on the injuries.
The loss was estimated at $35,000.
Firefighters were on the scene for about three hours. Fire personnel said two people were in the home, which is no longer livable.
They have asked for assistance and clothing and were referred to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army.
Woman faces charges
AUSTINTOWN -- A woman who police say was shoplifting at Wal-Mart now faces drug charges after officers found suspected marijuana and suspected methamphetamine in her car.
Jodi L. Haupt, 31, of Akron faces a felony drug possession charge as well as misdemeanor charges of theft and drug paraphernalia.
Police reports show that she stole a purse and several other items that she hid inside the purse from the Mahoning Avenue store at 11:57 p.m. Thursday.
Gunplay on expressway
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 36-year-old Youngstown man said someone opened fire while he was driving on the Himrod Avenue Expressway with his 1-year-old granddaughter in the front seat.
The Stewart Street man told police that a 25-year-old Youngstown man, with whom he has an ongoing argument, pulled up next to his car about 3:40 p.m. Thursday and opened fire with a semiautomatic handgun. The bullets struck the car's front windshield twice, breaking the glass.
The man and his granddaughter weren't shot, but both had scratches on their cheeks from the breaking glass.
Man shot in back
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 19-year-old Youngstown man told police he was shot in the lower back by his mother's boyfriend during an argument outside his Delaware Avenue home.
Police said Keith Crockett was arguing with his mother about 4:39 p.m. Thursday when her boyfriend, a West Florida Avenue man, started yelling at him. Crockett told police he started walking into his house when the boyfriend pulled out a handgun and shot him once in the lower back.
The suspect was last seen fleeing on Wirt Street.
Crockett was in stable condition in St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Lawsuit against city
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Georgia couple, formerly of Youngstown, are suing the city over what they say was an unlawful entry into their former home by police.
The suit, filed Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, says police forcibly entered the West Glenaven Avenue home of Kevin and Tyesha Dean by breaking down the door in December 2002.
The couple, who say their civil rights were violated, are asking for unspecified damages from the city and unnamed police officers.
The lawsuit does not explain why police entered the Deans' home, and their attorney, James E. Lanzo, could not be reached to comment.
Girl shot in thigh
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 16-year-old East Avondale Avenue girl was shot in the right thigh in her basement about 2:35 p.m. Thursday. Police said the girl told them it was an accident and she was in the basement by herself.
Police said they found an unloaded handgun under a couch in the basement, but don't believe it was the weapon used in the shooting.
The girl was treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center.