Prison for assault on cop

Prison for assault on cop
YOUNGSTOWN -- Kevin C. Queener, 39, of Bryant Street was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison for breaking into an Austintown convenience store and assaulting a policeman who was trying to arrest him.
"If you ever raise your hand to a police officer and you come before me, I'm going to put you in the penitentiary," Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court told Queener, who had asked for probation through his attorney, Michael Rich.
Assistant Prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro said Queener broke into the Save-A-Step store on Mahoning Avenue and ran away with the cash drawer, which he stuffed into a sack.
Officer Gregory Brinsko of the Austintown police chased Queener. As Brinsko neared, Queener swung the bag and hit him in the face, causing cuts and bruises.
Police out on prom nights
BOARDMAN -- High school students attending the prom this weekend will see an increase in police presence on township roads.
The police department will be stepping up traffic enforcement Friday and Saturday. Officers will be looking for intoxicated drivers and young, reckless drivers.
Guilty in shop robbery
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Himrod Avenue man faces five years in prison for robbing the Dunkin' Donuts store on Market Street in June 2002.
Anthony Figueroa, 22, pleaded guilty to robbery and a firearm specification Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. The charge was reduced from aggravated robbery as part of the plea agreement.
Judge R. Scott Krichbaum ordered a background check before Figueroa is sentenced.
Promotion at museum
COLUMBUS -- Nancy Haraburda has been promoted to site manager of the Youngstown Historical Center of Industry and Labor, where she has been an education specialist since 1993, the Ohio Historical Society announced.
The museum, which opened in 1992, documents the iron and steel industry in the Mahoning Valley.
Trucker is charged
YOUNGSTOWN -- City police have charged Joe Mercer, 53, of Warren with driving with an unsecured load.
His tractor-trailer lost its load of steel coils Wednesday on Interstate 680 northbound and overturned. The road was blocked for hours.
Downtown parade
YOUNGSTOWN -- There will be a downtown parade at noon June 20 on Commerce Street from South to Fifth avenues to kick off a week of events leading to the Greater Youngstown Area Soap Box Derby.
Those interested in participating in the parade must contact coordinator John R. Swierz before June 15 at (330) 788-5114.
The derby, which will be June 26 and 27, is seeking volunteers. Volunteers may sign up by calling (330) 727-4114.
Day of prayer planned
CAMPBELL -- City residents will celebrate a day of prayer for Campbell at 11 a.m. Saturday at the community center in Roosevelt Park.
The event is sponsored by the Ecumenical Council of Churches.
Deputy, others injured
LISBON -- A Columbiana County deputy sheriff and two others were treated at an area hospital after a two-car crash on state Route 154 on the southeast side of the village.
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Evelyn Abramson, 50, of Youngstown stopped at the intersection of a private drive and state Route 154 around 6:10 p.m. Wednesday. She then tried to turn left onto Route 154 and drove into the path of a cruiser driven by Deputy Jennifer Tucker, 23, of Lisbon, the patrol said.
Both drivers and Michael Guerney, 23, of East Palestine, a passenger in the cruiser, were treated at Salem Community Hospital.
A Lisbon Police Department spokesman said the patrol handled the crash because Tucker was formerly a village police officer. Abramson was cited for failure to yield, the patrol said.
Man is convicted
WARREN -- A 47-year-old Hubbard Township man has been convicted of several charges stemming from secretly videotaping family members. A jury convicted Michael Santoriella Jr., of Masury Road, Hubbard, on Wednesday.
Santoriella was convicted of nine counts of misdemeanor voyeurism, two counts of felony pandering obscenity and one felony count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance. Santoriella taped family members having sex.
He will be sentenced May 24. He faces up to eight years in prison.
Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court revoked Santoriella's bond and ordered him held in the county jail.
The indictment says police confiscated more than 100 videotapes dating back to 1997. Prosecutors said the tapes show family members in the bathroom and the basement of the home.