Casing the area?

Casing the area?
YOUNGSTOWN -- Two women knocking on doors on East Pasadena Avenue, purportedly peddling tablecloths for St. Stanislaus Church, are likely casing the area for elderly residents because the church is not selling tablecloths, reports show. On Thursday, a police officer spoke to elderly women who live in the 400 block of East Pasadena who had received a visit from the two women. Neighbors reported seeing a late-model red car dropping the women off.
Judge withdraws
YOUNGSTOWN -- Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly of municipal court will not preside over the trial of Christiaen A. Lively, whose three teenage friends died after a car crash in Mill Creek Park in March. City Prosecutor Dionne M. Almasy said Judge Kobly removed herself from the case and Municipal Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr., the court's presiding and administrative judge, will reassign it. Lively, 18, of Parkwood Avenue and his attorney Jeff Kurz, were in court Thursday for a pretrial, which did not take place. Instead, Kurz and Almasy spoke with Judge Kobly in her chambers. Kurz said he had sent a letter to the judge, asking that she step aside because she had heard testimony at a preliminary hearing, found probable cause that Lively committed felony crimes and bound the case over to a grand jury. The grand jury declined to indict. Almasy then filed misdemeanor charges of vehicular manslaughter in July.
Indicted on drug charge
YOUNGSTOWN -- A federal grand jury issued an indictment Thursday against Shauna Berry-Scott, 42, of Elm Street on a count of possessing with intent to distribute more than 120 grams of crack cocaine. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Atty. Lori A. Hendrickson.
Man faces cruelty charge
BOARDMAN --Township police have arrested Raymond Joseph Johngrass, 52, of East Western Reserve Road on a charge of cruelty to animals. According to police, Johngrass kicked the cat of his live-in partner' and threw it into an outdoor trash can Monday. The live-in partner said Johngrass claimed that the cat had attacked his daughter. The cat was later put to sleep. He pleaded innocent Thursday and is set to appear in pre-trial Oct. 21.
Reservists returning
VIENNA -- Thirteen Marine Corps reservists of the Landing Support Equipment Co., 4th Landing Support Battalion, 4th Force Service Support Group at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, are to return home tonight after a nine-month deployment in Kuwait and Iraq. The Marines were mobilized in January 2004, and after a month of training in the states were sent to the Middle East, where they were assigned to combat service support battalions at airports Iraq and Kuwait. The reservists are to arrive at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport this evening and attend a homecoming reception at the Naval-Marine Corps Center in Vienna about 8:30 p.m.
Mom slapped with penalty
BROOKFIELD -- A 33-year-old Masury woman must complete anger management sessions and undergo a psychological evaluation after being convicted of misdemeanor assault for slapping her son's football coach. Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Eastern District Court suspended a 90-day jail sentence for Tracey L. Bender of Addison Road Thursday and placed her on two years' probation. She also must pay a $200 fine and write a 400-word apology letter to the coach, and isn't permitted on Brookfield school property without the administration's permission. After a brief trial before the judge in August, Bender was convicted of slapping William T. Gibson, 55, of Brookfield. Gibson testified that Bender slapped him in the face in September 2003 at a middle school football game at Addison Field. The slap occurred after Gibson had taken Bender's son out of the game.
Warrant issued for driver
GIRARD -- Arrest warrants are issued for a 37-year-old man accused of fleeing police Thursday afternoon. Capt. Frank Bigowsky has charged Jonathan R. Daugherty of Lawrence Avenue with felonious assault, attempted aggravated vehicular assault, failure to comply with an order of a police officer, driving under suspension and resisting arrest. Bigowsky said Daugherty was in a yellow vehicle when he sped out of the high school parking lot shortly before 2:45 p.m. He was supposed to pick up his child at the school. Daugherty sped away when Bigowsky and Detective John Norman, in an unmarked car, displayed their badges, Bigowsky said, and Daugherty attempted to strike an unmarked police car and hit a marked car. The chase, the captain explained, reached speeds of 50 mph in residential neighborhoods on the North Side. Bigowsky decided to terminate the chase because of possible injury to others.