Arraigned in arson

Arraigned in arson
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mark A. Hausch, 20, of Covington Street was arraigned Tuesday in municipal court on an arson charge. He is accused of setting fire to 166 Tod Lane on Aug. 13. Hausch, who suffered burns, was arrested upon release from Akron Children's Hospital burn unit, said fire Capt. Alvin Ware.
Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. set bond at $10,000 and ordered that Hausch be placed on electronically monitored house arrest if he makes bond. Dana C. Guarnieri, assistant city prosecutor, told the judge that Hausch is a suspect in two or three more North Side arsons and has been cooperating with investigators.
Pike crash kills couple
AUSTINTOWN -- A Rockford, Ill., couple died after a crash on the Ohio Turnpike at 10:30 p.m. Monday. Mark F. Yates, 49, was dead at the scene and his wife, Young O. Yates, 51, the driver, was pronounced dead at St. Elizabeth Health Center at 3:57 a.m. Tuesday, said the Ohio State Highway Patrol at Hiram.
They were eastbound when Young Yates drove a 2003 Saab through the median and was struck by a westbound tractor-trailer, the patrol said. The truck driver suffered minor injuries. His truck struck another semi. The driver of the second truck was not injured.
Damages total $28,000
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 7-year-old boy playing with a lighter set fire to a closet at 20 Labelle Ave. around 10:30 p.m. Monday, said fire Capt. Alvin Ware. He said firefighter Joseph Lantz was treated for smoke inhalation. Damage to the two-story house was estimated at $13,000.
At 12:52 a.m. Tuesday, someone deliberately set a vacant house at 2402 Ohio Ave. on fire, Ware said. The fire was set in the kitchen of the two-story house and damage was estimated at $15,000.
Man arrested in theft
BOARDMAN -- A 24-year-old Mineral Ridge man was charged with felony theft Monday afternoon, accused of trying to steal more than $1,000 in jewelry from a mall store.
A store security employee at Kaufmann's in the Southern Park Mall called police after he said he saw Clayton O. Peyatt, Northfield Drive, conceal 25 bracelets and leave the store. Peyatt was arrested by police at Kaufmann's after the store security employee detained him.
Hotel fire suspect jailed
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Michael Watson, a suspect in a hotel fire Aug. 16 in West Salem Township that killed a local man, is being held in the Ashtabula County Jail in Ohio on unrelated charges.
Watson, 40, of Greenville, has been sought since the fire at the O.C. Hotel that killed James Hall, 48, of West Salem Township, who was staying at the hotel.
Hall's death has been ruled a homicide by Mercer County Coroner J. Bradley McGonigle. Police have said the hotel was burglarized before the fire.
Watson was apprehended Saturday in Lodi, Ohio, near Akron. Officials said Watson eventually would be returned to Mercer County for questioning.
Dispensers damaged
YOUNGSTOWN -- Coke and Pepsi machines, both heavily damaged from being pried open, were found around 8 a.m. Tuesday alongside the road at East Dewey and Poland avenues, police said.
The Coke machine was stolen from Boardman, where police have a surveillance video that shows four men loading it into a stolen Ford Ranger truck.
Giving away socks
YOUNGSTOWN -- Save Our Soles Ministry of St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church will sponsor a socks giveaway for children of all ages in preparation for school.
The event will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. (or until all socks are given away) Saturday at Homestead Park, 829 Dewey Ave. The Rev. Deborah A. Austin is church pastor and Jeannie Anderson, coordinator.