Apartment fire

Apartment fire

AUSTINTOWN — A malfunctioning space heater caused Sunday’s fire at the Hillbrook apartments, said assistant fire chief Andy Frost. The blaze caused $10,000 damage to two apartments there, he said. No one was injured in the fire, which started at 6 p.m. at the Raccoon Road apartment complex.

Winning lottery ticket

AUSTINTOWN — One of four winning $1 million lottery tickets was sold at the Golden Food Mart, 4290 New Road, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission. The prize was part of the commission’s New Year’s Raffle, with $5.5 million awarded in total. The lucky numbers were 485974. Other winning tickets were sold in Akron, Newark and Canal Fulton. For a full list of drawing results visit ohiolottery.com.

Firefighters battle
two residence fires

YOUNGSTOWN — Firefighters battled two blazes at residences. An early morning fire at 56 Brooklyn Ave., a vacant two-story house on the South Side, was intentionally set, the fire department said. When crews arrived at 5:54 a.m. Sunday the doors were open and heavy smoke and fire were seen on the second floor. Damage was set at $15,400, a total loss, and demolition requested. A kitchen fire at a Valley View apartment on Tyrell Avenue on the West Side started when oil in a pan ignited around 2 p.m. Sunday. The occupant threw water on the pan, which spread flames to the stove hood and cabinets, the fire department said. No injuries were reported. Damage was set at $3,200.

Waffle House robbery

HOWLAND — A masked thief armed with bolt cutters and perhaps a gun got away with nearly $600 from the Waffle House, 1494 Niles-Cortland Road. Two employees told police a man walked in about 1:45 a.m. Monday wearing sunglasses and a bandanna over his face. Employees believed he had a gun. One of the employees was ordered into a restroom and the other was taken to the office. The thief used the cutters to remove the lock from the safe, getting $200 out of it. He then took $384 from the cash register before fleeing.

Woman reports being
robbed in parking lot

BOARDMAN — A Cathy Way woman told police that she was robbed in the parking lot of a Doral Drive discount store. The woman, 35, said she went to Wal-Mart about 9 p.m. Thursday to buy cigarettes. When she got out of her car, she was approached by a man who told her to give him her money, she said. Although she didn’t see a weapon and the man didn’t say that he had one, the woman told police that she panicked and gave him her money and bank debit card. The man fled and the woman went home. She called township police to report the robbery the next morning.

Woman reports man
exposed self at window

AUSTINTOWN — A woman doing her laundry in the basement of an apartment complex on South Raccoon Road told police she saw a man masturbating outside the window. The incident happened at 8 p.m. Saturday, a police report says. The 40-year-old woman told police she heard a tapping on the glass from outside and raised the blind. She saw the man there. She yelled at him that she was calling the police, then ran to her apartment. When she returned to the laundry room, she discovered several pairs of underwear and a bra missing from her laundry, she told police.

Route 46 reopens

NILES — State Route 46, from Salt Springs Road to McKees Lane, reopened to traffic between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Monday, police said. The section was closed about 5 a.m. when a 20-inch line owned by the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District ruptured. Tom Holloway, district director, said it appeared a stress fracture in the line gave way.