Court refuses appeal

Court refuses appeal

WARREN

The 11th District Court of Appeals has refused to hear an appeal of the conviction of Donald P. Williams Jr., 47, formerly of Austintown, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison last year for killing three Marine Corps recruits in a multivehicle crash.

The court ruled that Williams filed the appeal seven months too late. He filed the appeal without the aid of an attorney March 27, seven months after the June 27, 2012, sentencing in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. Ohio law requires an appeal to be filed within 30 days of the sentencing.

Williams told the court he didn’t file earlier because his attorney said there was nothing to appeal, but the court noted that Williams’ written guilty plea contained language indicating Williams understood he did have appeal rights that had to be exercised within 30 days.

Exam date changed

CAMPBELL

The date of the civil-service exam that will determine the permanent replacement for former Chief Gus Sarigianopoulos has been changed from Friday to Sept. 3.

Sgt. David Taybus acted as interim chief from December until mid-June, when Sgt. Drew Rauzan was appointed to the post.

Both Taybus and Rauzan, along with Sgt. John Rusnak, are vying for the permanent position.

Tools stolen from truck

BOARDMAN

A township man came home after being out of town for a few days to find all his tools stolen from the bed of his truck, according to a police report.

The man left town Friday and came back Tuesday to his South Avenue home and discovered 23 tools missing. The tools are worth about $3,177.

Some of the items include a transformer, a hammer drill, a miter saw and a blower, according to a police report.

Failure to comply

youngstown

Police say a man who drove away from them late Tuesday evening abruptly stopped and refused to talk to them.

An officer said in a report he was near a store on the East Side about 11:40 p.m. that is in a high- crime area, and he noticed a man sitting behind the driver’s seat of a parked car. When the officer got to the car, the driver, later identified as 22-year-old Michael Albrecht, drove away when the officer asked him for his name.

Reports said Albrecht ran a red light and then almost hit a car and was chased on the Himrod Avenue Expressway, where he suddenly slowed down and came to a complete stop. When officers got to the car, he refused to speak, reports said. He was placed in the Mahoning County jail on the charge of failure to comply.

Jailed in bank robbery

NEW CASTLE, PA.

A man is jailed on $100,000 bond in a Monday morning bank robbery. Norman Clifford Lowe, 57, of Kathleen Drive, was arraigned Wednesday in the robbery of the First National Bank Laurel Branch at Pa. routes 108 and 388 in Hickory Township, Lawrence County.

He is charged with robbery, making terroristic threats, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and disorderly conduct. After a neighbor reported recognizing Lowe on surveillance photos, Pennsylvania State Police and the FBI used a search warrant Tuesday to check Lowe’s apartment and retrieved some of the cash taken in the robbery, state police said.

Facing drug charge

youngstown

Police cited a man early Tuesday after they found six bags of suspected marijuana in his car when he was pulled over for running a stoplight at McGuffey Road and Berkley Avenue on the East Side.

William Chisolm, 32, was stopped about 12:10 a.m. Tuesday and told police right away he did not have a license and he had some marijuana. Police searched the car and found the bags under the seats.

Chisolm was cited on a charge of possession of drugs marijuana and driving under suspension. He was arraigned Wednesday in Youngstown Municipal Court and has a hearing set for Sept. 27.

Man arrested in assault

youngstown

Police arrested a man about 6 p.m. Tuesday who punched a woman in the head during a fight, reports said.

Officers were called to 1748 Midland Ave. for a report of a large fight with gunfire, When they got there, a couple told them they went to the home to talk to their daughter about her boyfriend.

The boyfriend challenged the husband to a fight, and Angel Santiago, 18, approached the two. When the wife walked over, Santiago assumed a fighting stance and punched her in the head, reports said. Someone then fired a single gunshot in the air, which stopped the fight, reports said.

Santiago was arrested on a charge of assault and taken to the Mahoning County jail. Police searched but could not find the person who fired the warning shot, reports said.

Firefighting grants

SUMMITVILLE

The Franklin Township and North Georgetown volunteer fire departments in Columbiana County will receive federal money for equipment and vehicles.

Franklin Township, in which the village of Summitville is located, received $17,157, and North Georgetown received $34,438. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency Assistance to Firefighters Grants program. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Avon, announced the awards Wednesday.