WEST SIDE Police arrest man in shooting, standoff

Police are expected to release more information this morning.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man accused of shooting at police and holding officers at bay during a two-hour standoff on the West Side is in Mahoning County jail this morning.
Hoy Grubaugh, 31, of Donald Avenue was arrested on felony charges of assault on a police officer and illegal possession of a weapon and two misdemeanor counts of discharging a firearm into a habitation. The man has a prior conviction, which police would not discuss.
Grubaugh was arrested by police and members of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force about 7:30 p.m. after the standoff at 1971 Donald Ave.
There were no injuries.
Police said they were called to the area when Grubaugh fired a gun inside his home into a wall about 5:30 p.m. Shelley Webber and her fianc & eacute;, Nick Davies, who live next door, said the gunshot went through the wall of Grubaugh's home and into their home, where they were watching television.
Webber said she could feel the bullets hit the house.
Both Davies and Webber said they weren't sure what had happened until Davies went outside and looked at the wall of the home.
"I could see buckshot holes all over my house," he said. Webber noted she has young children who weren't in the home at the time. "Thank God," she said.
Police confiscated two shotguns, shell casings and several M-100 firecrackers.
Fired more shots
Davies said that when he called police, Grubaugh fired three more shots from inside his home. Youngstown Police Detective Sgt. Bill Ross said the man also fired at officers when they arrived.
A negotiator was called to the home, as well as a camouflaged sniper and members of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, who were carrying assault rifles and wearing black helmets and bulletproof vests.
About 7 p.m., police began shouting through a bullhorn for Grubaugh to come out with his hands up. Thirty minutes later, he emerged unarmed and wearing only khaki shorts.
He walked out on his lawn and looked at officers in disbelief, gesturing with his palms turned up.
"What the f--- did I do now? Oh great," he said, exasperated. "What did I do?"
He walked around the back of his home and was soon arrested. He expressed frustration about his arrest to an officer as he was led to an unmarked police car on Russell Avenue a block away.
A short time later, however, he was smiling and talking with officers as they adjusted his handcuffs outside the cruiser.
Police are expected to release more information today.
Neighbors' concerns
Several neighbors expressed concern that Grubaugh had a mental illness. Michelle Woloschak, who also lives on Donald Avenue, said Thursday night was not the first time he had fired a gun in the neighborhood.
She added that he bought the Donald Avenue home from her husband's grandmother about three years ago.
Woloschak said that, in the past, she had not allowed her children out of the house unescorted because of concerns about the man.
hill@vindy.com