Charged with theft

Charged with theft

youngstown

Police arrested a man on charges of theft and possession of criminal tools about 10:50 p.m. Thursday after he was walking down a rainy South Side street carrying so many items he had trouble holding onto all of them.

Officers spotted William P. Jones, 54, of East Princeton Avenue, at Southern and East Midlothian boulevards and questioned him because of the lateness of the hour, the number of items he was carrying and the fact he was walking in heavy rain.

Reports said Jones first told officers he bought the items from a friend, then said the friend gave him the items and then told them he found them at a vacant house in the 100 block of East Midlothian Boulevard. Police went to the home, and though it was vacant, there was construction equipment there, so they charged Jones because no one there gave him permission to take the items. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail.

Fire damages home

youngstown

Firefighters say a blaze at a 708 Fairgreen Ave. home about 12:20 p.m. Thursday caused about $8,000 in damage.

Crews were summoned to the home by police, who initially were called after a man was pounding on the front door. When officers arrived, they found a fire.

When firefighters tried to remove some burning cushions from the home, the blaze quickly spread, reports said. A cause has not yet been determined. There were no injuries.

Pleads not guilty

WARREN

Justin I. Howard, 20, of Fifth Street Southwest, pleaded not guilty Friday in Warren Municipal Court to firing a gun that hit another 20-year-old Warren man in the foot May 8.

Howard is charged with felonious assault and could get up to eight years in prison if convicted. He is being held without bond in the Trumbull County Jail. Members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitives Task Force arrested him Thursday afternoon.

Warren police said the incident occurred at the intersection of Summit Street Northwest and Mahoning Avenue just after midnight. The victim said a Chevrolet Malibu pulled up next to the car he and two friends were riding in, then the driver fired once at the car.

Woman charged

WARREN

A 30-year-old Southern Boulevard woman was released from the Trumbull County Jail on a personal recognizance bond Friday after appearing in court on charges of driving under the influence and child endangering.

Marquita Robertson was charged at 7:45 p.m. Thursday after she was found in the drive-through lane at Burger King, 161 Main Ave. SW, passed out and blocking traffic.

When police arrived, Robertson was unresponsive in the driver’s seat with two girls in the front passenger seat, both screaming and crying for their mother to wake up.

The officer noticed an open bottle of tequila between her legs and turned off the car.

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