Woman thwarts robbery outside bank

Woman thwartsrobbery outside bank
BOARDMAN -- An employee of a U.S. Route 224 discount store told police she thwarted a robbery outside a Market Street bank. The 50-year-old woman told police that she was approaching the door of the Key Bank shortly after 6 p.m. Monday with a deposit bag from Dollar General. A man was also walking toward the door fumbling with pills in cellophane. The woman told the man that if he was in a hurry he could go first, and he grabbed at the deposit bag. The woman punched the man in the face, he fled, and she entered the bank to get help.
Man charged withaiding murder suspect
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man police suspect helped Gregory A. McGee temporarily elude capture on a murder warrant was arraigned Tuesday in municipal court on charges of obstruction of justice and driving under suspension. Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly set bond at $300,000 for Stephen Johnson, 46, of Grandview Avenue. He will be back in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing. McGee, who is being held on $750,000 bond, is accused of shooting to death Charles Bush, 21, of Lora Avenue on Friday.
$500,000 bond in arson
YOUNGSTOWN -- Bond was set at $500,000 for a 20-year-old man accused of setting his father's Burbank Avenue house on fire. Charles Linebaugh, who was arrested at a house on Noel Drive on an aggravated arson warrant, told Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly on Tuesday that he lives at the Burbank address. Linebaugh will be back in court Sept. 7 for a preliminary hearing. Lt. Kevin Johnson, an arson investigator, said the fire was set Aug. 18. When arrested, Linebaugh also was served with a warrant issued out of Mahoning County Court in Austintown for failure to comply in a case that involves receiving stolen property and possession of criminal tools.
Vacant-house fire
YOUNGSTOWN -- Fire was deliberately set at a two-story vacant house at 174 Ayers St. on the city's East Side around 1 a.m. Tuesday and, because of the extent of fire on all levels and low water pressure from available hydrants, the structure was allowed to burn down, the fire department said. Damage was set at $20,000. Vinyl siding on a neighboring house melted.
Guilty plea in BWC fraud
CORTLAND -- Brian Robison of Cortland has pleaded guilty in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to defrauding the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and has paid $1,899 in restitution, the bureau said Tuesday. Robison, 33, of Liberty Boulevard, also known as Brian Miner, was injured in 2003 while doing assembly line work. His hand was crushed between two pipes and a finger was amputated. He was awarded temporary total disability benefits, but was paid by a church for work while receiving lost-time benefits, the bureau explained.
Civic group meeting
GUILFORD LAKE -- A discussion on sea walls and other types of shoreline protection will be the focus of a meeting of the Guilford Lake Civic Association at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Ruritan Pavilion on state Route 172. A representative of Amodio's Marine Shoreline Construction Co. will address shoreline protection techniques. A member of the Lake Milton Friends Group will also be on hand to discuss how that organization was formed.
Long-term care bill
COLUMBUS -- State Rep. Randy Law of Warren, R-64th, has introduced legislation to create a Long-Term Care Loan Fund for hospitals to buy "no-lift equipment." This is used by nurses to help lift, move, or rotate patients who are unable to move themselves.
"This idea was brought to my attention by local nurses who were concerned with physical strain that some patient-care takes on their bodies," Law said. "The number of workers' compensation claims has been on a steady rise and we hope this legislation will combat that problem."
House Bill 649's loan fund would be administered through the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, which already has a similar program in place for nursing homes.