Robbery case bound over to grand jury

Robbery case bound over to grand jury

CAMPBELL

An aggravated-robbery case against James Kirk, 22, of Campbell has been bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury for further consideration.

Kirk faced a preliminary hearing Tuesday morning on the charge in Campbell Municipal Court. At the hearing, a judge ruled that Kirk be placed on electronically monitored house arrest and his case sent to the grand jury.

A 13-year-old juvenile told police he attempted an armed robbery of Christie’s Bakery on 12th Street on Aug. 5 after Kirk told him to. The juvenile said he covered his face with Kirk’s shirt during the attempted robbery while Kirk kept lookout outside, police said.

Cash, drugs are found

LISBON

The Columbiana County Drug Task Force and Lisbon Police said they found more than $1,000 in cash and drugs with a street value of more than $2,000 when they executed a search warrant Tuesday at a North Market Street address.

They arrested Richard Lowe on an outstanding secret indictment on two counts of drug trafficking and charged him with tampering with evidence. The authorities said they seized about 12.5 grams of crack cocaine, three grams of heroin and 28 grams of marijuana. There are 28 grams in an ounce.

Did goose cause outage?

STRUTHERS

A goose appears to have caused a power outage to approximately 50 homes Thursday night. Officials believe that a goose struck a power transformer near the intersection of Iroquois Street and Butler Street.

An officer first responded to the area after an Iroquois Street resident called and said that she heard a bang, saw a flash of light and then found an immobile goose lying on her front porch. The resident believed that the goose may have been shot, but police reported being unable to find any blood on the porch.

First Energy arrived in the neighborhood about 10 p.m. and restored power by about 10:30 p.m.

Gross sexual imposition

YOUNGSTOWN

A New Middletown man appeared Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to answer charges of gross sexual imposition involving a nursing-home patient, said 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

The indictment says Richard Johnson, 62, engaged in sexual conduct with an 80-year-old woman suffering from dementia while he was employed as a maintenance worker at the nursing facility.

The charges followed an investigation by the Ohio Department of Health and the state Attorney General’s office.

Johnson entered a not-guilty plea. His bond is $15,000. The case is set for trial Oct. 5.

Failure to appear

AUSTINTOWN

A Warren man who posted his arrest video online in the township is wanted for failure to appear in court.

Jason A. Morrison, 37, of Selkirk Bush Road in Warren, has had a bench warrant through the Mahoning County Area Court here since Aug. 14.

He had a motion hearing July 27 and a status hearing Aug. 3, and online court records did not indicate which court appearance he missed.

Morrison live-streamed what he said was a traffic experiment at the intersection of Raccoon Road and Mahoning Avenue at 1:30 a.m. March 21.

He has argued his arrest violated his First Amendment rights. During an evidence-suppression hearing in May, Ken Cardinal, a Mahoning County assistant prosecutor, argued Morrison was “baiting the police.”

Morrison was charged with misdemeanor aggravated menacing and misdemeanor failure to disclose one’s personal information.

Robbery suspect sought

LIBERTY

Police continue searching for a suspect in an armed robbery of a Subway restaurant on Belmont Avenue over the weekend.

A 23-year old Subway employee told police that a man entered the restaurant’s back door shortly before closing on Saturday evening, pointed a semiautomatic handgun at her and demanded all the money in the cash register. The employee reported to police she gave the suspect an undetermined amount of money.

Fire destroys home

HUBBARD

A fire destroyed a home on McClure Road on Monday afternoon but the occupants escaped without injury.

The cause of the fire, which started in an attached garage and spread to the home’s attic, is under investigation. Firefighters from several departments responded to the fire which was reported about 4 p.m., according to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Homeless man stabbed

WARREN

A homeless man was stabbed in the cheek and in the hand in Courthouse Square at 7:07 p.m. Monday by a female he said accused him of stealing her dog.

The victim, 59, said the female used to live nearby him when he lived on Chestnut Street, and she approached him near the fountain and accused him of taking the dog when they lived on Chestnut. She then pulled out a gun and a knife, he said.

The victim said he grabbed for the knife and was cut on the hand. Then the woman cut his face, he said.

A driver passing by the park on Mahoning Avenue saw the victim bleeding. He stopped to help the victim while calling 911. The man was treated at ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

Surgical robots

YOUNGSTOWN

Representatives from ValleyCare Health System of Ohio will demonstrate its surgical robots, da Vinci SI and Mako, used in orthopedic surgeries, at the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber’s Good Morning, Liberty, Hubbard and Girard event Friday at Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane. Breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. followed by the program at 8 a.m.

Those attending also will receive updates about the cities of Hubbard and Girard and Hubbard and Liberty townships. Hubbard Schools Superintendent Raymond Soloman, Hubbard Mayor John D. Darko, Hubbard Township Trustee Frederick G. Hanley Jr., and Liberty Trustee Stan Nudell are expected to speak.

For information and registration, contact April Stanislaw at 330-744-2131, ext. 21.