MAHONING COUNTY Detective tries to identify rape suspects

One suspect indicated the woman owed for her associate's heroin, according to reports.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An investigation into the alleged rape of a Struthers woman by two men began today with a detective trying to identify the suspects.
Lt. Robin Lees said today that Detective Sgt. Jose Morales has a description of one suspect's vehicle and the house where the second suspect was picked up by the first. Lees said the report of the crime has details that should provide several leads.
Lees said Morales would also interview the woman, who was treated and given a rape examination at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
The 30-year-old woman was interviewed Friday by Patrolman Frank Rutherford at a house on Medford Avenue.
Found in pain
The officer said in his report that he found her crying and screaming in pain.
The following reflects what the woman told Rutherford at St. Elizabeth Health Center:
At noon Friday, the woman, who said she was a recovering heroin addict, went to a store at Wilson Avenue and Center Street and saw a man she knows as Jose who sells heroin in the parking lot. When he asked if she wanted to go smoke marijuana, she got into his Chevrolet Blazer and they went to a house on Kenneth Street, where they picked up his cousin, known only as "Bro."
They returned to the store, with the men telling her en route that they wanted to have sex with her and trade her for tricks. When she refused, one of the men pulled up his shirt to reveal a handgun in his waistband.
Back at the store, the cousin, Bro, got into her car. The two cars then traveled Interstate 680 to buy a marijuana cigarette at a gas station on North Meridian Road.
During the drive, Jose asked the woman about $2,800 one of her associates owes him for heroin. He proceeded to act as if she owed the money for the debt.
The Blazer and her car ended up behind the U-Haul storage facility on Mahoning Avenue. When the man known as Bro got into the Blazer, she was forced to perform oral sex on both men.
She was afraid they would kill her with the gun if she didn't do what they wanted. When she cried, they called her a junkie and other names.
The men then took her to a back street near Sacred Heart Church on the East Side, where they had intercourse with her. She begged them to stop. They laughed.
Drove around
They drove around again, made a couple of stops and then pulled into a remote site near T.C. Ready Mix in Struthers, where the men raped her again. The men wrapped a cellular phone cord around her neck to keep her from moving.
The men dropped her off at her car and she drove to the house on Medford to call police around 6 p.m. Friday.
meade@vindy.com