METRO DIGEST || Expect turnpike delays Monday, Tuesday

Turnpike delays

Berea

The Ohio Turnpike Commission will put up a rolling roadblock Monday and Tuesday. The road block, called a traffic drag, will allow road crews to erect a natural gas pipeline over the Ohio Turnpike near the exit for state Route 8, according to a news release. The road block, which will slow traffic to between 5 and 10 miles per hour for about 45 minutes, will begin about 20 miles from the work zone. Due to the size of the required equipment, traffic will be reduced to one lane at the construction site. On Monday, the road block will be in the westbound lane from midnight to 12:45 a.m. beginning at the Portage Service Plaza.

On Tuesday, the road block will continue in the eastbound lane at the listed time beginning near the Strongsville-Cleveland interchange 161.

Long delays are expected, officials said.

Prostitute attack

YOUNGSTOWN

A 47-year-old Boardman man called Youngstown police when his Thursday night date with a city prostitute did not go as planned.

According to police reports, the Glenwood Avenue man picked up a woman known as Coco on Hillman Street before 4 a.m. and took the woman to a Boardman hotel. On the way back to Youngstown the woman reportedly asked for more money and the man refused. The woman cut the man on the top of his head. Reports say the woman left a 6-inch gash in the top of the man’s head. The cut was not deep, reports said, but will require stitches.

Police are looking for the woman.

Robber thwarted

struthers

Someone tried to rob the Sami Quick Stop on East Midlothian Boulevard, police said.

The attempted robbery happened at 12:30 a.m. Friday, a police report indicates.

The store manager told police he was counting money in the cash drawer as the business was closing. The drive-through window was locked and gated.

The manager told police he looked up and saw a man, a bandana covering his face, pointing a large handgun at him. He grabbed the drawer and ran to the back of the store, where he and a clerk hid and called police.

Police recovered a bandana nearby while tracking with a police dog.

Old Navy arrest

BOARDMAN

A 23-year-old Warren woman was charged with robbery after she reportedly fought with a loss-prevention officer and off-duty Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper who tried to stop her from shoplifting around 7 p.m. Thursday

Valencia Marie Howard was arrested in the parking lot of Old Navy, 377 Boardman-Poland Road, after police said she tried to shoplift merchandise and fought with two people who tried to confront her. She was taken to Mahoning County jail on a $12,000 bond and also was found to have an active warrant from the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office for contempt of court, reports state.

Smoke-shop arson

BOARDMAN

Boardman firefighters are investigating a case of arson at a local smoke shop. Firefighters said they discovered two mattresses had been set on fire next to gas meters at Smoker Friendly, 4927 Market St. Reports state that fire broke out sometime between 5 and 11 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators ruled arson as the cause Thursday morning. The only listed damage was to the mattresses.