$250K worth of heroin

$250K worth of heroin

WARREN

Ricardo McKinney, 25, of Lancer Court is in the Trumbull County Jail without eligibility to make bond after Warren police arrested him Wednesday in a major drug bust.

Police executed a search warrant at 1538 North Road, confiscating 1,800 grams of heroin with a street value of $250,000 and arresting McKinney on charges of felony drug possession and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A not-guilty plea was entered for him in Warren Municipal Court during his arraignment Thursday.

Police also confiscated two firearms, two digital scales, packaging material and about $6,000 in cash. The arrest culminates a two-month investigation by the Warren Police Street Crimes Unit.

Heroin injection

YOUNGSTOWN

Police arrested a man who told them he had taken heroin in the parking lot of a West Side store about 5:45 p.m. Thursday.

Police were called to the parking lot at 1821 Mahoning Ave. for a report of a man slumped over the steering wheel of a car beside a gas pump with a needle sticking out of his arm.

When they arrived, they found Dale Lowe, 24, of New Springfield awake but disoriented. Reports said Lowe told police he had just injected heroin, and the needle was in the car’s cupholder.

Inside the car, police also found two packs of suboxone strips. Lowe did not have a prescription, reports said. He faces charges of possession of heroin, possession of dangerous drugs and possession of drug-abuse instruments. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail.

Fire damages house

CORTLAND

A woman escaped a house fire that started in the area of the fireplace Thursday night, but it caused about $50,000 in damage as it moved into the ceiling and attic.

The fire was reported about 6:30 p.m. on Cricket Lane. The woman said she started the fire in the fireplace, then fell asleep.

When she awoke, the fire was traveling up the back wall and ceiling, said Capt. Pat Dales of the Cortland Fire Department.

The woman tried to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher before retreating.

Insurance rating

BOARDMAN

The township has improved its fire-protection services rating that affects insurance rates for homeowners and businesses.

After an evaluation by the Insurance Services Office last month, the township now has a protection classification of 4 instead of 5.

The ISO rates municipalities’ fire services on a scale of 1 to 10 for insurance companies. Business owners and residents should have reduced insurance premiums after the rating becomes effective June 1.

Fire Chief Mark Pitzer cites increased firefighter training, improved equipment and better communication because of a new radio system as reasons for the improved rating.

“It’s great news,” he said. “We’re hoping in the future we can potentially reduce it even further.”

Domestic violence

CAMPBELL

Campbell police charged a city man with aggravated assault and domestic violence after a call to his apartment resulted in a standoff. Police were called to the Monroe Street residence at 2 p.m. Friday on a report of domestic violence. The officer who arrived first found Jose Hernandez, 39, trying to leave.

He ran to a semi truck, a police report says. The officer told him to stop, but he got in the truck and reached inside the cabin.

The officer drew his gun and kept ordering Hernandez out of the truck, but he started it up and drove it about 10 feet, and the officer had to jump away to avoid being hit.

Another officer arrived, and also drew his weapon. Hernandez took a handful of pills out of his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth, yelling racial slurs at the officers and saying he was committing suicide, the report says.

When he saw a laser light on him from a taser, he got out of the truck, the report says, and was arrested.

Police said his wife told them he was on drugs, went crazy when he got home and prevented her from leaving. He dragged her back in by her hair, threw her down on the couch and began smashing items in the apartment, police said.