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Police probe 3 robberies in city
YOUNGSTOWN
Police are investigating three robberies in various parts of the city earlier this week.
A 50-year-old Youngstown man told police he was driving in the area of McGuffey Road and Garland Avenue at about 10 a.m. Tuesday when two male teens — one having a lighter complexion and the other a darker complexion and both wearing dark clothes and baseball caps — asked for a ride. The man let both teens in the car.
The man told police he made it to the area of McGuffey and Albert Street when the lighter-skinned teen pulled out a gun and demanded he empty his pockets. The victim pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store, and both teens ran from the car without taking anything.
Police have reviewed outside surveillance cameras that captured the men running away from the auto. There also are photos of the men making their escape.
Police were also sent to the Shell Gas Station in the 3200 block of Market Street late Tuesday to investigate the robbery at gunpoint of a 17-year-old boy who had gone to the gas station to purchase a cigar.
The boy told police he went to the station at about 7:45 p.m., bought the cigar and was walking away from the business when he was approached by three males in a nearby alley. One of the men pulled out a small handgun.
One of the men went through the victim’s pockets, taking two cigars and $20.
Police were able to get video footage of the three thieves inside the store and outside footage of the robbery as it took place.
A 51-year-old Stewart Avenue homeowner told police he was shot at Tuesday morning by a trio of men who were stealing his flat-screen television and video-game system.
The man said he heard noise in his East Side home and went to investigate. He spotted the three men running out of his house with the stolen goods, and he gave chase.
One of the men turned around, dropped the TV and fired two shots at the homeowner. The homeowner was not hit, and the men ran off into a neighboring housing development.