2 vacant houses burned by arsonists

2 vacant houses burned by arsonists

YOUNGSTOWN — Two vacant houses on the South Side were intentionally set on fire over the weekend.

At 363 W. LaClede Ave., firefighters found the one-story structure engulfed in flames when they arrived at 10:20 p.m. Saturday and allowed it to burn down. Damage was set at $7,000, a total loss.

An hour earlier, at 63 E. Florida Ave., the first floor was on fire when crews arrived. Reports show this was the third fire in the two-story house. Damage was set at $3,000.

National Guard returns from deployment

YOUNGSTOWN — Members of the Ohio Army National Guard’s 838th Military Police Co., with headquarters in Austintown, are returning home Thursday from conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

The public is invited to the unit’s 5 p.m. homecoming at Trinity Fellowship Church, 4749 South Ave.

The 838th’s past deployments include Operation Desert Storm, 1991; Operation Joint Endeavor, 1995; Operation Noble Eagle, 2002; and base law enforcement operations at Fort Eustis, Va., in 2005.

Man shot in leg while driving car

YOUNGSTOWN — Charles Richardson told police he was shot in the right leg when someone inside a Pontiac sport-utility vehicle opened fire as he drove his cousin’s car southbound on Hillman Street near Myrtle Avenue late Sunday.

Richardson, 24, of Alameda Avenue, drove himself to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment at about 10 p.m. Damage to car included a bullet hole in the windshield and driver’s side mirror and three bullet holes along the driver’s side.

The mirror appeared to have been shot out by a bullet fired from inside the car Richardson had been driving and officers found 11 casings inside the car, reports show.

He told police that he did not return fire and had been alone in the car. Confronted with the casings, Richardson said he did have a passenger in the car and the passenger fired back at the SUV, police said.

In a related matter, a woman who lives in the 100 block of Myrtle Avenue told police she heard gunfire around 10 p.m. and then discovered her toilet tank had been hit by a bullet.

Warning about raccoons

YOUNGSTOWN — One of two small raccoons wandering around “dazed and confused” Sunday afternoon on Zedaker Street on the South Side was shot and killed by police, reports show. The other ran into a wooded area. The dead animal was put in a plastic bag and placed near the curb.

Anyone who spots a raccoon during daylight hours should contact police, as the animal may have rabies.