Man faces theft charge

Man faces theft charge
YOUNGSTOWN -- Raymond Pankey was arrested on a theft charge and released on a court summons after police found him pushing a shopping cart filled with fence posts on the Madison Avenue expressway Tuesday evening. Police said the posts are city property.
The shopping cart, which belongs to a Belmont Avenue grocery store, also contained a wash tub. Pankey, 50, of North Garland Avenue was arraigned Wednesday in municipal court. He will be back in court Dec. 8 for a pretrial.
Pankey has a criminal record that includes several convictions for breaking and entering. He was arrested in October on a charge of attempted burglary, and bond was set at $500,000. He was indicted on the charge last week. The case is pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
State Route 45 reopens
ELLSWORTH -- State Route 45 between U.S. Route 224 and Mahoning Avenue has reopened.
Various lane restrictions will continue through late this month and will be maintained by flaggers. The $1.6 million project is to resurface Route 45 from U.S. 224 to the Trumbull County line.
Also included is the replacement of the culverts on Route 45 between Route 224 and Mahoning. All work is dependent on the weather.
The entire project is scheduled for completion in late summer 2006.
Truck, trailer stolen
YOUNGSTOWN -- A young man with pantyhose over his face in the 400 block of Chicago Avenue pointed a gun at a man who has a lawn service business and stole the man's 2003 Dodge Ram pickup truck with trailer attached, police said.
The victim said he had been cutting grass on East Midlothian Boulevard on Tuesday afternoon when a young man, likely 18, approached and asked about having grass cut at his mother's house on Chicago. The victim was robbed when he drove to the location to give a quote. The address turned out to be a vacant house.
The trailer had miscellaneous lawn equipment on it worth $5,000, reports show.
YSU player arraigned
YOUNGSTOWN -- Joseph A. Nichelson, a 20-year-old Youngstown State University football player, was arraigned Wednesday in municipal court on a charge of felonious assault. Bond was set at $15,000; he will be back in court next Thursday for a preliminary hearing. Nichelson, who lives in a Wick Oval apartment, is from Wintersville, Ohio, reports show. He is accused of punching a 29-year-old South Schenley Avenue man after a fraternity party Saturday. The victim's jaw broke in two places, police said.
Expert identifies body
YOUNGSTOWN -- The body found in a house being demolished last week on Arlington Avenue has been identified by a forensic dentist as Karen R. Stuart, 40, of Himrod Avenue. A ruling on the death is pending from Mahoning County Coroner David M. Kennedy.
Investigating house fire
YOUNGSTOWN -- The cause of a fire at a two-story vacant brick house at 564 E. Florida Ave. at 6:10 a.m. Wednesday is under investigation. The fire started in a first-floor den and was confined there. Damage was estimated at $11,000. The property is owned by a New Brighton, Pa., man.
A fire was deliberately set Tuesday afternoon at a large shed on condemned property at 1220 Augustine St., the fire department said.
Firefighters said the owner is under house arrest at another location because of the condition of the property. Reports show a substantial amount of tires, garbage and other debris on the property, as well as inoperative vehicles.
Center open for holiday
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown Historical Center, 151 W. Wood St., will be open Friday -- Veterans Day -- from noon to 5 p.m.
The museum, which focuses on the steel industry and Youngstown's past as a steel town, features life-size exhibits of a company house, steel mill locker room and more.
Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students.
Commissioners to meet
POLAND -- Mahoning County commissioners will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Poland Township Government Center, 3339 Dobbins Road.