One suspect in robbery captured, one on lam

YOUNGSTOWN — One of two suspects who police said attempted to rob a Struthers man with a shotgun and a knife was arrested prior to a task force search of an East Side apartment.

First officers on the scene in the 1600 block of Shehy Street around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday took Hector Perez, 30, of Donation Street into custody. Perez was then arrested on an aggravated robbery charge.

The victim said Perez fired a shotgun in the air and a second man waved a knife around. The victim said he struggled with Perez over the shotgun and it broke at the stock.

Members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force Crisis Response Team were called to out to search for the second man inside the house on Shehy but he wasn’t there. Officers did find a shotgun under a mattress that had been stolen in Beaver Township in August, reports show.

The victim told police he’d gone to the Shehy Street apartment with Perez to party with a six-pack off beer. After several hours, he went outside to sit in his car and that’s when Perez and another man he knows only as “Will” approached and tried to rob him.