Officer suspended

Officer suspended

NEW MIDDLETOWN — Village Police Chief Vince D’Egidio said Monday that part-time officer Brent Heffinger has been suspended after a domestic incident Saturday in Springfield Township.

He will remain off the job pending the results of an internal village police department investigation.

D’Egidio said Heffinger was arrested in Springfield on charges of domestic violence as a result of an incident at his mother’s house involving Heffinger and his brother and sister.

Heffinger was on duty at the time. D’Egidio said Heffinger appeared in Struthers Municipal Court on Monday morning but no charges were filed as he and his siblings agreed to seek counseling.

D’Egidio, however, said Heffinger violated numerous police department policies, including being outside the village while on duty. Heffinger has been on the village police force for five years.

Manager reports assault

YOUNGSTOWN — A manager at Family Dollar on Glenwood Avenue told police he was assaulted Sunday morning by a man he asked to leave after the man asked for a handout. Police said the man is homeless and has mental health issues.

Home burglarized

YOUNGSTOWN — A home on Everett Avenue was broken into over the weekend. The homeowner said she left her home at 8 p.m. Friday and returned at 10:15 to find the front door kicked in. Police said a power drill with case, DVD player and Nintendo gaming system were stolen.

Drug and other charges

BOARDMAN — A Youngstown man is expected to appear in Mahoning County Court here today, charged with several offenses.

Ronald C. Burley, 26, of West Ravenwood Avenue, is charged with trafficking in drugs, illegal weapons possession, carrying a concealed weapon and drug abuse, all felonies, and misdemeanor offense of obstructing official business and resisting arrest, after a traffic stop Sunday on Hillman Way. He was in the Mahoning County Jail. The car in which he was riding was impounded. Its owner has not been charged. A search found suspected crack cocaine, suspected marijuana and $1,130 cash in Burley’s pocket. A police dog found a loaded handgun nearby.

Lawn-care items stolen

YOUNGSTOWN — About $500 in lawn-care equipment was stolen from a shed at a Champlain Avenue home Sunday night. The owner found the lock on his shed damaged and reported a chain saw, weedwhacker, edger, trimmer and ladder missing.

Worker suspected in theft

AUSTINTOWN — An employee at Little Lotto Shack was questioned after $4,330 went missing.

A woman was fired from the business and questioned by police Saturday evening after the owner of the business, located on Mahoning Avenue, suspected her of stealing $4,330.

The owner said since January she’d been conducting an internal investigation to find out where the missing money was going.

She said she noticed numbers on the business’s paperwork had been changed each time the suspect worked. Police read the suspect her rights, and she refused to answer any questions except to deny the theft.

Chase ends in arrest

YOUNGSTOWN — A city man is jailed after leading police on a high-speed chase on I-680.

Police say Clyde E. Hudson, 23, of the 3000 block of Idlewood, failed to stop for a red signal at Hillman and Woodland around10:50 p.m. Sunday. An officer tried to pull him over at Woodland and Alice, but Hudson sped onto I-680 North, the officer said.

The officer chased Hudson for a short distance but stopped the chase because of the high speed and Hudson’s reckless driving.

Hudson exited 680 and traveled toward Martin Luther King Boulevard and Wirt Street, When the officer saw Hudson leave his vehicle at the Madison Avenue Expressway, he chased and caught him.

Police said Hudson was driving on a suspended license and is wanted by Youngstown Municipal Court on two prior offenses.

He was taken to the Mahoning County jail to await court.

Guilty of sex with girl

LISBON — A Salem man pleaded guilty Monday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to two felony charges involving sex with a young girl.

John A. Cope, 38, of West Wilson Street, was indicted in 2008 on two counts of gross sexual imposition.

He was accused of engaging in sex acts with the girl, now age 14, from 2000 to 2006.

The activities took place at Cope’s residence and another house in Salem, authoritie said.

Judge David Tobin ordered a pre-sentence investigation before the sentencing.

Boosters donate items

YOUNGSTOWN — The SteelHounds Booster Club donated household items to Beatitude House, which helps disadvantaged women and children.

The club, which had been formed to support the team, had household items from 10 apartments that were no longer needed after the team disbanded. Donated items included vacuum cleaners, microwaves, dishes, silverware, pots and pans, bedding, pillows and miscellaneous items.

Teresa Boyce, development director, said the items would be used in Beatitude House apartments, where previously homeless women and children live. For more information, visit www.beatitudehouse.com or call (330) 744-3147.

Drug, driving charges

YOUNGSTOWN — Keith A. Hicks, 42, of the 1500 block of Church Street, Ambridge, Pa., is in Mahoning County jail after police found him asleep in his running vehicle near the corner of Alameda and Wirt streets around 8:45 a.m. Monday. An officer woke Hicks, who got out of his vehicle, and the officer discovered a rock of suspected crack cocaine and two glass crack pipes with burnt residue on Hicks. He was charged with drug possession and driving under suspension.