Murder deliberations

Murder deliberations
YOUNGSTOWN -- Jurors will begin deliberating Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where Tremaine Brown has been on trial for murder.
Jurors heard closing arguments Friday afternoon from assistant prosecutor Jeffrey Limbian and defense attorney Douglas B. Taylor, then were sent home for the weekend by Judge James C. Evans.
Brown, 25, of Stansbury Drive, is accused of shooting his 21-year-old girlfriend, Tawanna Thomas, during a domestic dispute at their apartment June 18.
Assault on officer
AUSTINTOWN -- A Streetsboro man is set to be arraigned on a charge of felony assault on a police officer. Robert Toothman, 18, also has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after a struggle with officers Thursday. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Mahoning County Court in Austintown.
Officer Philip Merlo was treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center for a sprained foot and ankle after the struggle, which took place about 8:30 p.m. at the Pilot gas station on state Route 46.
Merlo and two other officers eventually subdued Toothman using pepper spray.
Toothman was taken to county jail and later released after posting $5,500 bond.
Yogi Roth will speakat commencement
ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. -- University of Pittsburgh wide receiver Yogi Roth will be the featured speaker at the Adopt-A-School commencement at Ellwood City's Lincoln High School on Monday.
Adopt-A-School is a program that encourages pupils to remain drug- and crime-free while stressing a healthy lifestyle and good education. It is administered through the Lawrence County District Attorney's office.
Ninth-graders in Rick DeLoia's social studies class are part of the program.
DeLoia said he chose Roth as the final speaker because he believes Roth is an excellent example of someone who has achieved his dreams with smart decisions, determination and the ability to reach out and network.
Cop caller, cop collar
CAMPBELL -- A 42-year-old Lettie Avenue woman was arrested after she called police to report that concrete had been thrown through her bedroom window.
Karen D. Sanders said she was sleeping about 2 a.m. Friday when a large piece of concrete shattered the window, police reports show. Officers sent to her home arrested her when they discovered that she was wanted on a receiving stolen property warrant in Youngstown.
In an unrelated matter, a 71-year-old Penhale Avenue woman called police about 5:30 p.m. Thursday to report that she heard a noise in her basement and found that a glass block in a basement window had a hole in it and shattered glass was on the floor. When officers arrived, they found a bullet in a cement block to the left of the window.
Stolen car reported
CAMPBELL -- A 25-year-old Campbell woman reported to police that her 1992 Saturn coupe was stolen as her husband drove it on Wilson Avenue in the area of Third Street or Fourth Street.
The woman said her husband was traveling west about 11:15 a.m. Thursday when another car stopped in front of him and two men exited and approached the Saturn, police reports show. When the two men told the husband to get out, he left the car and ran home.
Firefighters' grantto improve safety
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Shenango Township Volunteer Fire Department received a $39,060 grant from the 2003 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency. The money is to be used to improve firefighter safety.
David Rishel, fire department president, said the department is looking at buying air purification filters for the two stations or more safety equipment for firefighters.
West Nile virus casein Mercer County
SHARON, Pa. -- The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported another case of human West Nile virus in Mercer County.
The state announced Friday that a 64-year-old man had been diagnosed with the disease, the fifth human case in the county this year.
The first was a 75-year-old man July 30. Others were an 11-year-old girl Aug. 22, a 24-year-old woman Aug. 22 and a 48-year-old woman Oct. 9.