Metro digest || Police officer indicted

Police officer indicted

WARREN — A Trumbull County grand jury has indicted a Mahoning County corrections officer and part-time Braceville Township police officer on two charges each of obstructing justice, unauthorized use of a criminal-justice database and disclosure of confidential information.

Ryan M. Freeman, 30, of Front Street Southwest, will be arraigned at 1 p.m. Feb. 16 in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. He is on paid administrative leave from the sheriff’s department.

The Trumbull Ashtabula Law Enforcement Task Force charged Freeman with several offenses in late January after an investigation determined that Freeman used the Automated Database System, which is only available to law enforcement, to look up information on a man later charged by TAG with aggravated trafficking in drugs.

Lt. Jeff Orr, TAG commander, said it is believed Freeman looked up information on Fred D. Johnson, 39, of 714 Homewood Ave. S.E., Warren, while Johnson was at Freeman’s home.

Black history program

YOUNGSTOWN — Beulah Baptist Church, 570 Sherwood Ave., will have a free Black History Month program at 4 p.m. Sunday featuring historian Steffon Jones, a member of St. Andrewes African Methodist Episcopal Church.

St. Andrewes, one of the oldest black-American churches in Mahoning County, marked its 140th anniversary last year.

Among St. Andrewes’ founders was Oscar D. Boggess, a black Civil War soldier who is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

Boggess was a sergeant in the 43rd Regiment, United States Colored Volunteers of Pennsylvania. He received a medal for his courage. Jones said an Ohio Historical Marker plaque dedicated to Boggess is at Hawthorne and Edwards streets, the area in which he lived.

Beulah youths will do mime, and there will be a skit about President Barack Obama.

Robbery suspect sought

BOARDMAN — Police were looking for a robber who walked into a Boardman-Poland Road business and brandished a gun.

About 1:15 p.m. Thursday, the man walked into Aspen Dental, pulled the gun and handed an employee a note asking for cash and a prescription pad, police said. The employee gave him an undisclosed amount of money but said the prescription pad was in the back.

The man fled on foot. He was described as a white male, age 20 to 30, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing between 150 and 170 pounds.

Aggravated menacing

GIRARD — Police charged Stephanie Romeo, 27, no specified address, with aggravated menacing, resisting arrest, criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after an incident at 3:57 a.m. Wednesday in the 400 block of Washington.

A homeowner called police and told them that Romeo had entered his house unannounced and was not welcome. When police arrived, she shouted obscenities at them and threatened with a knife she claimed she had.

After a search, police found no weapon. En route to the station, Romeo was spitting and kicking in the cruiser, officers said. They used a chemical spray to subdue her.

An ambulance was requested; she was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, for evaluation.

She’s due Feb. 9 in Girard Muncipal Court.

Spin-a-thon fundraiser

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown YMCA, 17 N. Champion St., will host the 2010 Spin-a-thon on Saturday in support of the 2010 Strong Kids Campaign.

The first ride begins at 7:15 a.m., and the last is at 1:20 p.m.

During the annual event, spinners secure $50 donations for each hour they ride, with some riders even committing to ride the entire seven hours.

The campaign provides financial assistance to underprivileged youths and families for membership, assistance to special-needs people and agencies with usage of the YMCA’s pools and gyms.

For more information or to register, contact Maureen Horvath at (330) 744-8411.