3 arrested in shooting, robbery of carrier

The two boys are also charged with a Sunday morning carjacking.

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — When a Vindicator carrier grabbed for the gun held by a 13-year-old robber, the boy in stolen shoes pulled the trigger, a detective says.

The carrier, Arthur R. Williams, 50, of Struthers, was hit in the right forearm around 11:30 a.m. Monday at the corner of Southern Boulevard and East Judson Avenue. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment.

Patrolman P.J. Chance, first officer on the scene, learned from Williams that he had been hassled by three boys at 50 Hilton Ave. Two of them followed on foot as he drove one street over — to Judson — to drop off more papers at a carwash.

One boy, dressed in a red hoodie, approached Williams’ driver’s side door with a gun, started yelling and demanding money and then grabbed checks from the carrier’s pocket. The victim was shot when he grabbed for the gun and the suspects ran.

The investigation then moved to 50 Hilton.

At the beige, two-story, abandoned house, police found a red hoodie lying on the porch and the door wide open. Chance and Detective Sgt. Mike Lambert shouted to those inside: “Youngstown police — we are not going away — come outside!”

Levert F. Dent, 19, and a 17-year-old, both of East Lucius Avenue, walked into the living room with their hands in the air after multiple orders from police. Just then, an officer at the rear of the house yelled, “One on the roof running!”

The runner, a 13-year-old from Almyra Avenue, was ordered by police to lay on the roof with his hands visible and then told to re-enter the house through an upstairs window. Several checks belonging to the newspaper were found in the bedroom, reports show.

Detective Sgt. Ron Rodway said the 13-year-old, a fugitive, was the one who shot Williams. Rodway said juvenile court had issued a pickup order for the teen some time ago after he ran away from a detention center.

Rodway said the 17-year-old was the younger teen’s accomplice and took Williams’ cell phone during the armed robbery.

The two younger teens were both taken to the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center on Monday to face two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of felonious assault, Rodway said. The extra charges, he said, relate to a carjacking that took place around 11 a.m. Sunday on East Ravenwood Avenue.

That victim, who sells sports clothing and shoes, told police that two teenage boys — one in a red hoodie — approached and asked to see some of the sale items in the Chevrolet Blazer. As they neared the vehicle, one of the boys pulled a gun and demanded the keys. The suspects drove off in the Blazer.

Rodway said clothes and shoes that had been in the Blazer were found inside 50 Hilton. The detective said the 17- and 13-year-olds were wearing shoes stolen in the carjacking when arrested Monday.

The house at 50 Hilton, which has no water, was being used by the teenagers as a hangout, Rodway said.

After Dent and the other two teens were in custody, the fire department brought a ladder to the scene. Chance and Patrolman Jeff Roberts used the ladder to climb on the roof to see if the 13-year-old had tossed a gun on it, police said.

“Glad I’m not a roofer,” Chance said once back on firm ground.

“Broad daylight — that’s bad,” Allan Bowlby, circulation director for The Vindicator, said of the robbery. “I was dumbfounded.”

Bowlby said that, like any other business that gets robbed, the work goes on. He said the newspaper still has to get out and deliver newspapers and collect payments from subscribers.

The trend, Bowlby said, is toward payment by mail — which avoids carriers’ having to collect.

Dent, meanwhile, was taken into custody at 50 Hilton on a warrant issued Oct. 17 for failing to appear at the Ohio Adult Parole Authority for a presentence investigation. He pleaded guilty last month in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to a charge of breaking and entering and sentencing was set for Nov. 1.

Dent and 28 other adults and juveniles made news in May 2006 during a roundup of South Side gang members. Dent, who lived on East Lucius Avenue at the time, pleaded guilty to participation in a criminal gang and received probation in juvenile court.

meade@vindy.com