METRO DIGEST || Utility worker scam in Liberty
Liberty scam warning
LIBERTY
Liberty Police Department is urging residents to be wary of potential thieves in the area after one woman fell victim to a pair of thieves claiming to be from the water department, according to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.
An 80-year-old woman who lives on Fifth Avenue Extension opened her door Tuesday afternoon to a man wearing a white hard hat and yellow vest. The man told the woman he was from the water department and was working on water problems in the area. The suspect then entered the home and began looking under the kitchen sink. He purportedly made a phone call to another man while he was in the kitchen.
After the suspect left, the woman noticed some things inside her home were misplaced. Upon investigation she found that approximately $20,000 worth of jewelry and $500 cash had been taken.
Detective Tom Couche advised all residents to be cautious about visitors claiming to need access to a residence.
Couche says community members should be on the lookout for a thin man 20 to 40 years old, about 6 feet tall, with brown hair, brown eyes and a mustache.
The detective told the TV station the suspect reportedly has a high-pitched voice and a slight accent. At the time of the robbery he was wearing blue jeans, work shoes, gloves, a beige coat and a yellow safety vest.
Bomb threat at store
NILES
The Target store at Eastwood Mall reopened at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after bomb-sniffing dogs were used at the store to determine that there were no explosive devices there. The store was evacuated after a call to Niles Police Department at 11:37 a.m. indicating that a message was scribbled on a wall in the bathroom suggesting that a bomb would go off at 12:30 Wednesday. The evacuation did not affect other stores at the mall, Niles police said.
WRTA meeting
YOUNGSTOWN
Western Reserve Transit Authority board will meet at 3 p.m. today at the WRTA, 604 Mahoning Ave.
McCale pleads guilty
WARREN
Randy A. McCale, the 46-year-old Niles man who helped a Bazetta man sell millions of dollars worth of illegal steroids, pleaded guilty Wednesday to five counts of identity fraud.
McCale, of Neil Street, could get probation or several years in prison when he’s sentenced in about four weeks by Judge W. Wyatt McKay of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
Investigators said McCale was employed by Global Fitness on Elm Road in Howland when he accessed personal information from former Global customers so PayPal accounts could be created in their names. Those identities were used to purchase the illegal steroids, investigators said. Joseph Stiver, 23, of Cadwallader-Sonk Road, was sentenced to one year in prison in October for being the primary perpetrator of the enterprise.
Fire investigated
YOUNGSTOWN
The cause of a North Side fire about 10:20 p.m. Tuesday is under investigation. Crews were called to a 381 Redondo Road home after the home owner came home and saw smoke coming from the second floor. Firefighters managed to get inside and put the fire out. Reports said the blaze appeared to start behind a home-entertainment center, where a record player had burned up. Damage was listed at $3,000.
Drug activity probed
YOUNGSTOWN
Members of the police department’s vice squad serving a search warrant investigating drug activity at about 6:45 p.m. Tuesday found a 9mm handgun and a loaded magazine for the gun in a cereal box. Police served the warrant at a home on East Indianola Avenue. Also inside they found two bags of heroin, a bag of marijuana, some loose crack cocaine and a bag of methamphetamine. Jonathan Ashby, 28, of East Indianola Avenue, was taken into custody on charges of possession of drugs/heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of drugs. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail.
Snow needed for test
WARREN
The Trumbull County Engineer’s Office tried to test brine pre-treatment on several county roads last week, but expected snowfall didn’t materialize.
Gregg Alberini, county highway superintendent, said there was snow in the forecast Thursday, so the engineer’s office applied liquid brine to about six roads and several bridges in the central part of the county including Elm, North River and Johnson Plank.
Motorists were able to see the treatment had been done because it left seven noticeable lines on each lane of travel on the road. But without the snow developing, officials were unable to determine how well it worked, Alberini said.
Christmas dinner set
YOUNGSTOWN
St. Dominic’s Parish Center, 77 E. Lucius Ave., will host a Christmas dinner and gift-giving event at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The center said 150 neighborhood children will be given gifts and share in a family dinner.
Stolen vehicle
BOARDMAN
Township police arrested a Youngstown man Monday after they said he drove a stolen vehicle and had keys to another vehicle that did not belong to him. Police ran a random registration check on a truck traveling on U.S. Route 224 Monday and discovered the vehicle was stolen, according to a police report. The vehicle is registered to a 78-year-old man, and officers observed that the person driving the car was a young man who later was identified as Jason Womack of Forest View Drive. Police ordered Womack at gunpoint to get out of the vehicle. Womack told police he found the vehicle, and also found the car key to another vehicle that officers discovered after searching him. He was arrested on a felony charge of receiving stolen property. He was cited for driving under suspension and taken to the Mahoning County jail.