Suspect in Struthers Manor murder won't be moved to Ohio until next week

STRUTHERS

The man arrested Wednesday in the slaying of a 56-year-old Struthers Manor resident likely won’t be extradited from Pennsylvania to Ohio until early next week.

But Roy Cleary, 40, will appear in Struthers Municipal Court on charges of murder and auto theft shortly afterward, authorities say.

Cleary was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Struthers Detective Jeff Lewis said Cleary, who had been seen leaving Struthers Manor on Sunday night in victim Mark Westfall’s vehicle, had visited multiple western Pennsylvania emergency rooms between then and the time of his arrest, claiming a shoulder injury and seeking prescription drugs. Surveillance video of those visits exists.

Lewis added that police recovered Westfall’s white 1999 Chevrolet Blazer at UPMC Horizon in Farrell, Pa. Both Lewis and Police Chief Tim Roddy questioned Cleary late Wednesday at the Allegheny County Jail, where he spent the night.

Cleary and Westfall had known each other through the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority-owned facility, Lewis said. Westfall was friends with Cleary’s mother, who also lives on the complex’s third floor. Cleary likely had been staying with her, perhaps since his return to the area about two months ago, Lewis said.

Guest stays at Struthers Manor are limited to seven days, said James Winston, public safety/inspection specialist for YMHA, who added that Cleary was not listed on the apartment’s lease. To YMHA officials’ knowledge, Cleary was not living there, though he did have a legitimate reason to be in the complex, he said.

Historically, Struthers Manor has been one of YMHA’s most desirable residences, with a waiting list several hundred names deep.

During Thursday’s regular meeting of the YMHA board of commissioners, Executive Director Carmelita Douglas explained that from January to the present, and in all of 2013, only four calls for service each year were made. Most, when investigated, were found by police to be unfounded.

Read more about the situation and the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.