Bar owner offers reward for information in killing
Bar owner offers reward for information in killing
YOUNGSTOWN -- Calling homicide victim Jason McInnis "a friend of mine and a friend of the bar," William Hart, manager of the Coconut Grove, is offering a 500 reward for information leading to an arrest. Capt. Kenneth Centorame, who spoke to Hart, said tipsters should call 911 and leave whatever information they have. McInnis, 28, of East Midlothian Boulevard, was found shot to death around 1:30 a.m. Saturday not far from the Coconut Grove on South Avenue.
Investigating break-in
GIRARD -- Police are trying to determine who broke into a senior citizen's home while she slept in a bedroom only a few feet away. Police reported the 83-year-old Gary Avenue woman said she was in bed, sleeping with the television on, at midnight when she heard a noise. She thought nothing of it, turned the television off and went to back to sleep. In the morning, the woman found her purse on the ground and missing 116, all of her kitchen cabinets open and her car missing from the garage. Police have determined that someone entered the home through a basement window.
Man pleads insanity
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 23-year-old man charged with aggravated murder with a firearm specification has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity. Andre Maxwell, of Regent Street, entered the written plea Tuesday through his lawyer, Douglas A. King. Maxwell is charged in the July 20 shotgun slaying of Corey Stone, 19, of Dignan Street. Witnesses told police three or four carloads of men confronted Stone in the 1100 block of Sunshine Avenue about his possible involvement in the beating of a friend of theirs. The attackers punched Stone and knocked him to the ground before someone grabbed a shotgun from a car and opened fire, striking Stone under an arm, police reports said. Stone died in St. Elizabeth Health Center. Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court will decide how to proceed with the case after he receives a report from a psychiatric evaluation of Maxwell.
Officials probe 2 fires
WARREN -- Fire officials are investigating two separate fires that caused nearly 100,000 damage. Firefighters were called out shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday to an apartment at 2071 Draper St. The apartment was unoccupied. The blaze was confined to a rear bedroom with smoke damage throughout. Damage was placed at 50,000 to the structure and 5,000 to the contents, said fire Capt. Dean Molinatto. Firefighters were again called out at 11:53 p.m. Monday to a vacant house at 2469 Wick St. Upon their arrival, Molinatto reported, flames were shooting out of the roof. The loss was placed at 40,000 because of heavy damage to the attic and roof.
Drug-trafficking charge
BOARDMAN -- A preliminary hearing is set for next week for a Kensington Drive man charged with drug trafficking. Police stopped a car driven by Brandon M. Reid, 20, Monday night upon running the license plate and discovering it didn't match the car. Before the officer pulled over the driver, he saw the driver throw small plastic bags out the window and onto the ground, a police report said. The bags contained suspected crack cocaine and pain relievers wrapped in a paper towel. There also was a warrant from Youngstown police for Reid's arrest for failing to appear in court on traffic charges. Reid's preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday in Mahoning County Court here. He remains in the county jail.