Guilty of kidnapping

Guilty of kidnapping
WARREN -- A Trumbull County Common Pleas jury has found a Warren man guilty of kidnapping and assaulting a girlfriend, but not of raping her.
Ernest L. Averiett III, 33, was on trial this week before Judge Peter Kontos.
The woman told police and testified he had burned her with an iron Aug. 18.
The jury on Thursday found Averiett guilty of felonious assault, kidnapping, intimidation and failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer.
The jury found him innocent on two counts of rape.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3. Averiett is in the Trumbull County Jail.
Christmas Extravaganza
HOWLAND -- Howland Community Church, 198 Niles-Cortland Road, will present its third annual Christmas Extravaganza for all children 3 years old through the third grade from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday.
There will be a movie shown and also other activities, including making a Christmas spider and an edible manger.
There is no cost, and all children are welcome.
Playhouse holiday party
YOUUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Playhouse will hold a holiday party for all residents in its South Side neighborhood from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The event is being held to thank residents for their support of the Playhouse. Food and soft drinks will be served, and toys will be distributed to all children in attendance.
The party is being funded through private donations. Reservations are not required.
World's Largest Kettle
SALEM -- People can contribute their change at what the Salvation Army is calling the World's Largest Kettle from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Salem Giant Eagle, 2401 East State St.
Assault reported
WARREN -- Two people said they were greeted with a shotgun when they went to collect payment for a car.
Warren police report a 21-year-old Niles woman and a Girard man, 29, went to a home in the 2700 block of Duke Street S.E. early Wednesday to collect on the car she had sold to the occupant.
They were allowed in, but the occupant chambered a round into a shotgun and pointed it at them, then put the weapon down and began beating the Girard man -- breaking his nose and cutting his face.
Police are investigating.
2 report being stabbed
WARREN -- Two women reported being stabbed early Wednesday, but one left the hospital before police could get her story.
A 22-year-old Elm Road woman said she was stabbed in the forearm and foot.
A Comstock Avenue woman, 24, reported being stabbed in the upper and lower back, and underwent surgery at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
Both said the stabbings happened at an apartment in the Packard Building on North Park Avenue.
The 22-year-old left the hospital before officers arrived and attempts to find her were unsuccessful.
Electric keyboard stolen
WARREN -- First United Methodist Church, 815 N. Park Ave., reported to police Wednesday the theft of an electric keyboard from the church.
The keyboard is valued at $2,500.
Warren police also made a report of a breaking and entering at the Trumbull Country Club, 600 Golf Drive, after a patrol officer found a garage door open on one of the buildings. It was not yet known if anything was missing.
Santa at Poland Library
POLAND -- The Friends of Poland Library will host Santa at a holiday event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday with the theme "All Aboard the Poland Express. Believe in Books!"
The free event is open to the whole family.
Children can participate in a coloring contest, which will be judged by Santa at noon. Entries for the contest can be picked up at the library bookstore.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their cameras and take pictures in an area with a large cutout train.
The friends group will be selling Wendell-August Forge Christmas ornaments and candles made with a casting of the Poland Library as a fund-raiser.