Warren police investigating a murder and an assault/burglary

WARREN — Police are investigating the shooting death of a 37-year-old city man found on North Feederle Street Southeast in the Trumbull Homes apartment complex early Sunday.

The man was identified as James I. Folmar of 2080 South Feederle Drive, who has an extensive criminal record through Warren Municipal Court and was under indictment in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on a felonious assault charge.

Folmar was sentenced to six months in prison in 1999 on an aggravated assault.

Police found Folmar’s body in the street while responding to several calls of gunshots fired in the area of Trumbull Homes at 3:52 a.m. A police report said witnesses heard gunshots and saw someone running away.

Warren police detectives were unavailable Monday morning to discuss the case or to indicate how many times Folmar had been shot or whether he was dead at the scene.

The location where Folmar’s body was found is about 1 1/2 blocks west of the Willard K-8 School on Willard Avenue Southeast, which was locked down for 15 minutes on Monday because of gunfire that erupted at a house a short distance north of the school on the opposite side of Willard Avenue.

Folmar lived in the apartment complex, a couple blocks further south and west of the school.

Folmar’s death is the 10th homicide of the year in Warren, which recorded six in 2008 and 12 in 2007.

Folmar has been charged criminally in Warren Municipal Court 16 times since 1994. Charges included abduction, arson, domestic violence, robbery, receiving stolen property, aggravated burglary and felonious assault three times.

The death was not the only serious crime committed in Warren over the weekend.

Police also charged Michael C. Walker, 23, of Parkman Road Northwest with felonious assault and breaking and entering after he was caught by the homeowner while trying to steal a mountain bike out of the garage of his home on Raymond Street Northwest and then pulled a knife on the man.

A Warren police report said that when the 29-year-old homeowner caught Walker with the bike at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Walker brought the bike back. Walker pulled a knife on the homeowner, but the homeowner got the knife away from him, police said.

Walker was treated at Forum Health for a minor laceration. He was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges today.

Police also investigated an armed robbery and assault on Van Wye Street Southeast near Niles Road that occurred at just after midnight Sunday morning.

An armed robbery was also reported at the Euphoria store on Youngstown Road Saturday at 5:30 p.m., and a man reported be being shot at two times Sunday afternoon by the same people, once on Ward Street Northwest and once on Palmyra Road near Risher Road Southwest. He was not hit either time.