Reward offered

Reward offered

YOUNGSTOWN — A $5,000 reward is offered for information leading to arrest and indictment in the shooting into the Liberty Township home of Youngstown State University President David and Pat Sweet. Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at (330) 746-CLUE. The identity of callers will remain anonymous.

Sweet and his wife returned to their home Dec. 28, after being out of state. The next morning, he discovered a bullet hole in the upstairs front bedroom window and a bullet lodged in the crown molding. There were two bullet holes in the first-floor den window and a bullet lodged in the wall over the sofa, and two bullets outside that had hit the front stonework.

Liberty police are investigating, with YSU police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. The reward money is being offered by several individuals who wish to remain anonymous.

Arrested in murder try

AUSTINTOWN — Police arrested a man in a shooting on Cumberland Circle. Frederick T. Easterly, 25, of Manhattan Avenue, Youngstown, is charged with attempted murder in the Sunday shooting of Godfrey L. Gurley, 27, of 3723 Cumberland.

Gurley was shot in the neck and back around 1 a.m. after he’d returned home. A man followed him into the apartment and opened fire, a witness told police. Gurley was released Monday from St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Acting on a tip, police arrested Easterly around 4 p.m. Wednesday at his home, said Austintown Detective Kathy Dina. He is in the Mahoning County Jail, and his arraignment is set for 1 p.m. Monday. Police are unsure as to a motive for the shooting, Dina said.

Arsons suspected

YOUNGSTOWN — Arson crews will investigate the cause of a string of blazes that occupied firefighters Wednesday night and early Thursday. Emergency crews were first called to a vacant home at 69 Halleck St. at 11:19 p.m. Wednesday. The structure was completely engulfed in flames and was allowed to burn to the ground for safety reasons, according to reports. Damage was estimated at $11,000.

A little more than two hours later, emergency calls reported a garage fire on East Florida Avenue. The detached structure was a total loss. Damage was set at $3,000.

At 2:15 p.m., firefighters were called to a vacant home at 754 Cassius Ave. Because of the advanced state of the fire, the structure was allowed to burn. Neighbors said the house had been vacant about two years. Damage was $3,000.

Rock-thrower sought

YOUNGSTOWN — Police are searching for the individual who threw rocks from the Connecticut Avenue overpass, injuring a passenger traveling on Interstate 680 South. Officers were called to the scene at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, where a 23-year-old woman had minor cuts to her face. The woman and her mother reported they were driving on the highway when a large rock crashed through the passenger-side window. Another rock shattered the windshield. The women reported they had not seen anyone on the West Side overpass.

$28,000 fire damage

AUSTINTOWN — A kitchen fire did $28,000 in damage to a township home, according to the fire department. The fire started after the homeowner left food unattended on a stove around 4:36 p.m. Wednesday at 346 S. Edgehill Ave. No one was injured.

Home-heating help

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership is scheduling appointments for the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program through its Interactive Voice Response system. Call to make an appointment before coming in to complete the application, (866) 223-1125. A limited number of walk-ins will be taken from 8 to 9 a.m. for individuals whose service has already been disconnected and customers with less than a 10- day supply of bulk fuel. The emergency program runs through March 31. It provides assistance to low-income households that have had utility service terminated, face the threat of disconnection or have less than a 10-day supply of bulk fuel.

Grant for prescriptions

YOUNGSTOWN — Catholic Charities Regional Agency received a $5,000 grant from the Rite Aid Foundation to be used for the agency’s Prescription Emergency Assistance Program for uninsured and underinsured individuals and families in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.