Police probe two robberies on North Side

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Police are investigating two robberies on the city’s North Side this week. A man was shot during one of the robberies.

According to police reports, a 46-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard man was entertaining guests at his home just after 2:30 a.m. Thursday when two masked men carrying guns barged into the apartment.

Reports say the armed intruders began demanding money, then went through the victims’ pockets removing more than $800. One of the men shot the victim in the leg before dragging the man to a bedroom and demanding more cash.

The two men eventually ran out of the apartment when they did not find any more money. The man was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center where he was treated for the gunshot wound, and cuts and bruises.

Police collected one 9mm shell casing from inside the apartment.

Police are also investing the robbery of a 56-year-old Redondo Road man Wednesday.

According to police reports, the man was leaving a convenience store in the 1800 block of Belmont Avenue on the North Side just before 1 a.m. when he was approached by two men, one acting as if he had a gun under his clothes.

The victim told police the men demanded money, and he handed over his last $3.25. The men demanded more money and began to search his pockets eventually taking a cellphone.

The victim told police he ran away screaming for help after the men took his cellphone. He said the thieves ran in the opposite direction.