MAHONING COURTS Three indicted in murder, arson, burglary case

The victim was shot in the head and his house set on fire.
By ROGER G. SMITH
COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted three men in a burglary, homicide and arson case and a woman accused of leading police on a car chase last month.
The grand jury indicted James Huff, 21, of Trussit Street, Jimmy Davenport, 27, of Kensington Avenue, and Frederick Rice, 28, of Ferndale Avenue, all of Youngstown.
Each is charged with aggravated murder and aggravated burglary with firearms specifications on each charge; and aggravated arson.
The three are accused in the Aug. 9 death of James Rowles, 66, of Trussit Avenue. Rowles had been shot in the head when firefighters found him in the fire of his burning house, which investigators say was set intentionally. Police said the motive was robbery.
Each is being held on million dollar-plus bonds.
Prosecutors say Davenport was the shooter. After the shooting, prosecutors say all three used bleach to wipe fingerprints from inside the house, with Davenport and Rice later returning to set the house on fire.
Not related
The grand jury also indicted Kimberly A. Kalasky, 24, of Cherry Hill Drive, Youngstown, on a half-dozen counts.
She is charged with failure to comply with an order from police, escape, aggravated robbery and three counts of felonious assault.
On July 15, police arrested Kalasky on a charge of obstructing official business when she refused to cooperate in an issue over stolen checks.
While in custody, she slipped out of a handcuff and tried to stab an officer with a small knife, police said. When the officer got out of his cruiser to avoid being injured, Kalasky crawled through a partition and climbed into the driver's seat despite being sprayed with pepper spray. The officer grabbed Kalasky and was dragged about 35 yards as she drove off.
Another officer saw Kalasky in the stolen cruiser drive onto Interstate 680. She drove the cruiser northbound on Interstate 680 to Interstate 80 to Interstate 76 and Austintown police joined in the pursuit.
Kalasky is accused of ramming Austintown cruisers and trying to run over police. She was finally apprehended after the cruiser rammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer helping with a rolling roadblock. Police said she continued to fight and tried to break free.
rgsmith@vindy.com