Still selecting jury

Still selecting jury
WARREN -- Jury selection continued for a fifth day Wednesday in the murder trial of Jermaine McKinney, the 26-year-old former Girard and Youngstown man accused of killing two women in Newton Township last year.
Opening arguments in the trial are not expected to begin until next week.
So far, 19 of a needed pool of 34 potential jurors have been chosen. A jury of 12 and four alternates will be selected from the pool. Hearing the case is Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
McKinney, who goes by "Maniac," could face the death penalty if convicted of killing Wanda Rollyson, 70, and her daughter, Rebecca Cliburn, 43, on Dec. 21, 2005.
Investigating death
MIDDLETON -- Columbiana County Coroner Dr. William Graham said he may have a tentative ruling today on the cause of death of an East Palestine man. Jeffrey Thompson, 44, of East Palestine, was found face-up in a muddy driveway beside his pickup truck after authorities received a 911 call at 4:56 a.m. Wednesday.
Thompson was a friend of Kathy Heddleston's, the resident of the mobile home at 6724 Carbon Hill Road. She and two other women there were being interviewed about what happened in the hours before Thompson's death, according to county Sheriff David Smith.
Smith and Dr. Graham said there was no obvious cause of death. Smith's body has been sent to the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office for an autopsy.
Dr. Graham said that Thompson had been living in Negley but had recently moved back in with parents in East Palestine. Smith said agents from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation examined the area around Smith's body. Columbiana County Prosecutor Robert Herron was also on the scene for several hours. Smith said that Thompson did not have a criminal record.
Struggle with intruders
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 31-year-old West Indianola Avenue man told police that he let in through the front door a man who wanted to use the phone Tuesday night. But another man with a bandana over his face came in the back door. John Johnson said he struggled with both intruders and was hit on the head a couple of times with a gun. He said the gunman then demanded money and the weapon fired. The suspects left with two of the victim's cell phones, reports show. It wasn't clear if injury to the victim's head was caused by being struck with the gun or from a bullet, police said. Johnson was treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Report: Fire was set
YOUNGSTOWN -- A fire at 25 E. Ravenwood Ave., vacated just last weekend by the occupants, started in the first-floor dining area around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday and appeared intentionally set, reports show. Firefighters said entry was likely gained through a back window. Damage was set at 500.
Facing traffic charges
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Scott Shinsky, 42, of West Lincoln Avenue is charged with driving under the influence, driving while under license suspension and a stop-sign violation. Police said Shinsky was traveling south on Cunningham Avenue at 2:55 p.m. Tuesday when he failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed into an eastbound car driven by Robert O'Brien, 75, of Wampum, Pa. O'Brien had to be removed from the car by firefighters and was later flown to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment. Shinsky was released without bond after his arraignment.
Honoring slain soldier
HARRISBURG -- Slain New Castle soldier Marine Cpl. Albert Gettings was honored by a Pennsylvania House of Representatives resolution. State Rep. Chris Sainato of New Castle proposed the resolution which was unanimously passed by the Statehouse on Wednesday. Gettings, 27, was one of 11 Marines killed in hostile gunfire Jan. 5 while serving in Iraq.