Metro digest || Police seek information in Blashak slaying

Police seek information in Blashak slaying

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

New Castle police found the body of a man in a wooded area of Mahoningtown on Tuesday.

Leroy Blashak, 71, appeared to have been riding a bike at the time of his death. An autopsy at Beaver Medical Center revealed a bullet lodged in Blashak’s right shoulder.

Blashak was found by a person who had spotted a deer in the area. The investigation into the death continues.

Anyone with information should call the New Castle Police Detective Bureau at 724-656-3585.

One-Stop recruiting

BOARDMAN

The Mahoning County One-Stop is having a recruiting event/open interviews for Comfort Keeper jobs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at 141 Boardman-Canfield Road. Area residents interested in part-time employment as home health aides are encouraged to attend. Various shifts are available at locations in Youngstown, Warren, East Palestine, East Liverpool, Salem, Damascus and East Rochester.

Comfort Keepers helps seniors to live happy, healthy lives in the comfort of their own homes by providing quality and compassionate care. For more information, call Danita Logan at 330-965-1787 ext. 7115 or visit www.onestopohio.org.

Police seeking man in witness assault

new castle, pa.

A city man is facing several charges after he confronted an ex-girlfriend who was about to attend a hearing on him for protection from abuse, police said.

Neshannock Township police said a warrant is issued for Ronald Mounts III, 34, of South Ray Street. He is charged with robbery, burglary, kidnapping, assault and intimidation of a witness or victim.

Police said he waited outside the victim’s house on Fairfield Avenue in the township at 9 a.m. Monday. He kept her from leaving for the hearing, then assaulted her and kept her from calling for help, police said. He also took her cell phone and keys, grabbed her and pushed her into a vehicle, police said. He fled when someone saw him and yelled at him, they said.

Spray-painting vandal

SALEM

Police Chief Robert Floor said Tuesday his department is investigating a spray-paint vandal operating in the southern part of the city.

On Monday, a vandal sprayed the word “Grim” in red on the fence at a residential facility on Franklin Street. The words “Grim” and “Slug” were sprayed on a wall in the 400 block of West Pershing Street. Other properties were sprayed on Franklin Street, Sharp Avenue and South Broadway Avenue.

Baby held at gunpoint

campbell

A woman and her 1-year-old son were held at gunpoint during a home invasion, the victim told city police.

The woman was entering her home on Sixth Street at 12:50 a.m. Monday when two men came from around the corner of the house and pushed her and the baby inside. The men knocked some of her belongings off shelves, and one pointed a handgun at her and demanded money, police said.

When she couldn’t give the robber money, he banged her head off the hallway wall. Meanwhile the other man pointed a gun at the baby, police reported. Eventually the men left.

Police did not report any arrests, referring questions to a detective who could not be reached.

ATV crashes

new castle, pa.

Two teenagers were injured in an all-terrain vehicle accident after the vehicle went down a hillside, the city fire department reported.

The accident happened around 10:30 p.m. Monday near the Neshannock Avenue extension, where there are trails along Neshannock Creek, the department said.

Police said the teens are Dakota Clingensmith, 17, of East Division Street, who was driving, and Daniel Hookway, 18, of Pollock Avenue.

The ATV plunged between 25 feet and 30 feet to rocks and the creek below. The victims were taken up the hillside on stretchers, the fire department said. The department said their injuries were not life-threatening.

Home burns in Salem

SALEM

A fire damaged a home at 155 Woodland Ave. at 1:03 p.m. Monday. The house is owned by James R. Icard, according to Salem Fire Department officials. Neighbors alerted the family when they saw smoke coming out of the structure. No one was injured. Firefighters said there was apparently an electrical malfunction near a second-story closet. The home, valued at $58,000, sustained $15,000 in damage. The contents were valued at $30,000, and the loss was estimated at $10,000. There were no smoke detectors in the house. The family had fire insurance, fire officials said.

Counterfeit $100s

liberty

Police took a report at Giant Eagle, 4700 Belmont Ave., about two men, one between 23 and 27 years old, and the other between 47 and 53, who tried to use counterfeit $100 bills to pay for merchandise. The younger man tried to buy something for $15.97 and the older man for $6.56. The incident occurred the morning of Nov. 26.

Police said employees recognized the bills as counterfeit, and alerted the store office, which called police. Police said a third counterfeit bill had been passed at the store Nov. 25. There is video surveillance.