Heart attack suspected

Heart attack suspected
NILES -- Police believe Michael Dougherty, 19, of Pratt Street, whose body was found near his home Tuesday morning, died of natural causes -- perhaps a heart attack. Police Chief Bruce Simeone said the body was found along a set of railroad tracks. Simeone said Dougherty's mother looked for him Monday night when he didn't return home but couldn't find him. The county coroner's office said an official cause of death is pending.
Sweepstakes scam
YOUNGSTOWN -- A sweepstakes phone scam was used on a 76-year-old Liberty Road woman, police said. The woman sent $1,000 to Costa Rica on Oct. 25 and $1,250 on Oct. 26. She has Western Union receipts that police took as evidence. The woman said she received a call Monday and was instructed to send $400 more to collect $450,000 from a man in a white van who is in town now. The woman did not send the $400. The case has been assigned to the detective division.
Gold Pontiac sought
YOUNGSTOWN -- The 57-year-old pedestrian hit at Mahoning and Brockway avenues Sunday night was struck by a gold-colored 1990 Pontiac Sunbird or Sunfire that left the scene, said Detective Sgt. Ken Linden. The car, described as recently detailed, will likely have damage to the hood because the victim landed on the hood after being struck as he walked on the sidewalk near a drapery business just before 10 p.m.
Linden said the Pontiac likely did a U-turn in the parking lot and then hit the pedestrian as it left the lot. Anyone with information is asked to call Linden in the accident investigation unit at (330) 742-8776. Linden said the victim's legs are broken.
Police seek teen robber
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 41-year-old East Ravenwood Avenue man walking from his home to the Coconut Grove on South Avenue around 10 p.m. Monday was shot in the groin by a teenager who demanded money, reports show. The victim, John E. Hopkins, was in stable condition Tuesday at St. Elizabeth Health Center. Hopkins told police that he struggled with the gunman, who fled on foot after firing one shot. The suspect, who may live in the area, is described as black, about 16, 5 feet 10 inches tall, and weighing 165 pounds. He was wearing black pants and a black hooded sweat shirt.
Meeting on government
HERMITAGE, Pa. -- The League of Women Voters of Mercer County is hosting a meeting on state government from 7 to 9 tonight at the Shenango Valley Senior Community Center, 220 N. Buhl Farm Drive. Professor Michael Coulter of Grove City College will talk about the history of Pennsylvania government. John Kennedy of the Commonwealth Foundation, a Youngstown native, also will speak.
The league is sponsoring another public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. next Wednesday at Woodland Place in Mercer. John Nicklin, director of the Mercer County Department of Public Safety, will talk about county emergency planning.
YSU to honor war dead
YOUNGSTOWN -- The names of 56 Youngstown State University faculty, staff and students who left the university to go on active military duty and died while on active duty will be read at a ceremony at Veterans Plaza in front of Beeghly Center at 10 a.m. Thursday.
YSU faculty and staff who are military veterans will read the names. A color detail from YSU ROTC and a rifle salute by the Tri-State Detachment, Marine Corps League, will be part of the program.