Pretrial for Koliser

Pretrial for Koliser
YOUNGSTOWN -- Martin L. Koliser was in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for a final pretrial Thursday before his trial begins next week. Koliser, 30, of Boardman, faces charges including aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder.
He is accused of killing Youngstown Patrolman Michael Hartzell in an April 29 shooting on West Federal Street. Police say he also shot Donell T. Rowe in the chest during a dispute outside a West Side bar some two hours before Hartzell was shot.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum went over last-minute motions with lawyers in the case and discussed the procedure that will be used for selecting a jury. Officials expect it will take two to three weeks to seat a jury; then testimony will begin.
Coats program halted
BOARDMAN -- The Ryan Bunch Coats for Kids program will not provide help this year to children who miss school because they don't have winter coats. Financed by Ryan Alternative Staffing, Ryan Bunch has provided about 6,000 new coats to local pupils at a cost of about $135,000 over the past 12 years. Timothy M. Ryan, Ryan Alternative Staffing president, said his firm will instead make a donation to the Salvation Army for coats, and urged families in need to contact that organization. Ryan anticipates restoring the Ryan Bunch program next year.
School operating levy
BERLIN CENTER -- Western Reserve Board of Education approved the Nov. 4 ballot language for a 4-mill, five-year operating levy to raise $300,000 a year to avoid deficit spending. At its Thursday night meeting, the board also approved the closing of Ellsworth Elementary School last Friday as a calamity day because of a chemical spill at the corner of state Route 45 and U.S. Route 224.
Boy faces theft charges
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 16-year-old Hollywood Avenue boy driving a car stolen from his neighborhood was pursued to the 800 block of Marmion Avenue on Thursday afternoon and arrested after he abandoned the car, dropping money from a woman's purse as he ran. The victim told police she started her car in the driveway and left her purse inside it when she went back into her house to gather a few things. She then saw the car being driven off when she returned to the driveway, reports show. The boy faces charges of auto theft, theft from a motor vehicle and resisting arrest
Students face charges
CANFIELD -- One student at the Mahoning County Career and Technical Center is charged with taking a deadly weapon to school; another is slated to appear in court next month on drug charges.
Ashley Vickers, 18, of 12th Street, Campbell, was arraigned in Mahoning County Court in Canfield on Wednesday on a felony charge of conveying a deadly weapon, a knife, into school Oct. 3, according to police. Vickers has pleaded not guilty and faces a preliminary hearing Nov. 7.
Another student, Jamie L. Yovichin, 18, of Howard Avenue, Youngstown, will appear for a pretrial in Canfield Court in November on charges of drug abuse and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police found suspected marijuana in Yovichin's car Oct. 2.
Weapons charges
YOUNGSTOWN -- A minor traffic violation on Florencedale Avenue ended with two arrests and confiscation of a loaded gun just before midnight Wednesday. Police said they stopped a car driven by LaToya Ortella, 23, of Griffith Street because she failed to signal a turn. She was charged with driving under suspension. Her passenger, Thomas Thompson, ran when police approached and was caught in the 1300 block of Florencedale, where officers found a loaded gun in the weeds. Thompson, 23, of Sherwood Avenue was arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon and illegal possession of a weapon based on a prior carrying a concealed weapon conviction.
Cops confiscate guns
YOUNGSTOWN -- Three arrests were made and two guns confiscated when police conducted a random license plate check on Market Street at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Eric D. Moore, 19, of Gluck Street was arrested on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon, as was Gilbert A. Jahmall, 20, of Samuel Street. Moore's gun was loaded, so his charge is a felony; Jahmall's was unloaded so the charge is a misdemeanor, police said. Moore and Jahmall were passengers in a car driven by Ryan J. Watson, 20, of Cornwall Avenue, who was charged with driving under suspension. The car was towed. Another passenger, a 17-year-old East Lucius Avenue boy, was taken home by police.
Another West Nile case
SHARON, Pa. -- Another case of West Nile virus has turned up in Mercer County, the third this year. The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Thursday that a 48-year-old woman had contracted the disease.