Police intervene in 4-girl brawl

YOUNGSTOWN — Pepper spray was used to break up a fight among four girls whose punching and hair-pulling drew a crowd of 100 to 150 teenagers in the playground next to Borts Pool at Belle Vista and Oakwood avenues.

When the girls ignored a police command to stop, the spray was used around 7 p.m. Monday and the crowd began to disperse. In all, three city patrolmen and three deputy sheriffs responded to the melee.

Two of the girls in the fight, ages 14 and 15, were given citations charging them with disorderly conduct and released to their parents.

In a somewhat related event, Shatayva Howard, 23, of Plazaview Court was arrested by a deputy on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon. Reports show she pulled a utility knife out of her purse and extended it toward another female, who ran as the deputy got closer to the playground.

Howard was arraigned Tuesday in municipal court and released on her own recognizance. She will be back in court Aug. 13 for a pretrial hearing.