Saturday, June 24, 2006
Shots fired at stolen car
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man, a 16-year-old girl and her 2-year-old son traveling in a car on the South Side were fired upon from another vehicle, police said. The shooting happened around 11 a.m. Friday on Sherwood Avenue and left the street strewn with casings from a 9mm handgun. A crime lab officer collected 25 casings.
Calissa Patton of Glenaven Avenue and her son were injured by flying debris or glass and were treated at Forum Northside Medical Center. Police said the driver of the car in which they were riding had fled before officers arrived to find the vehicle sitting at LaClede and Hudson avenues. The black 2004 Mustang was reported stolen, police said. It had several bullet holes in the body and rear window.
Murder charges filed
YOUNGSTOWN -- Marketis Stevens, 25, of 14th Street, Beaver Falls, was charged with murder Friday in connection with the killing of Donald Hudson of Clarencedale Avenue, Youngstown, last October.
Stevens, originally from Youngstown, was arrested at his home. He waived extradition in Pennsylvania and was taken to the Mahoning County Jail.
The arrest by the U.S. Marshal's Service and area police departments was made after Stevens was indicted Thursday by the Mahoning County grand jury.
Hudson, whose body was found on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, was shot in the chest and hip.
City reasserts standing
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city has defended its request to intervene in a federal lawsuit by inmates concerning conditions in the Mahoning County Jail.
Anthony J. Farris, deputy city law director, filed his response Friday to Mahoning County's motion to dismiss the city's intervention.
On Wednesday, county Prosecutor Paul Gains and assistant Prosecutor Linette M. Stratford asked that the city's intervention request be dismissed because the city failed to file a claim or defense for which intervention is sought. Farris replied: "Youngstown's only role in this matter is to oppose any form of prisoner release order. The City of Youngstown has no obligation to prove any claim." U.S. District Judge David D. Dowd Jr. has been overseeing county jail operations since March 2005, when he determined that the lockup was overcrowded and unsafe after inmates filed the class action suit in November 2003.
Sobriety checkpoint
WARREN -- The Trumbull County OVI [operating a vehicle impaired] Task Force will conduct a sobriety checkpoint from 8 tonight to 1 a.m. Sunday in the Warren and Howland area. The checkpoint will be conducted by Warren and Howland police and other area law enforcement.
Cow barn burns down
SOUTHINGTON -- Officials are calling a township barn a total loss after a fire broke out at 3:13 p.m. Thursday. The barn at 2616 Barclay Messerly Road was used for cows by Kathy Waldo. Several area fire departments responded to the blaze, including Warren Township, Champion and Braceville. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Storms delay repairs
CALCUTTA -- State Route 170 will remain closed here until Wednesday, Ohio Department of Transportation officials said. The culvert replacement was scheduled to conclude Friday, but because of delays caused by the inclement weather, the road remains closed. The road was closed June 12 as part of the Columbiana County engineer's $2.4 million intersection improvement project at county roads 428 and 430.
Educational grant
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Raymond John Wean Foundation has awarded a Good Neighbor Grant for $24,340 to the Children's Museum of the Valley, 139 E. Boardman St.
The grant will allow the organization to add the position of full-time educator to its staff and publish a guide to the museum for teachers.
The museum is a nonprofit educational entity that fosters independent thinking and enriches the lives of children by creating an environment where they can learn about themselves and their community and beyond through the exploration of hands-on exhibits and educational programs. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 4:30 p.m.