Theft-by-deception case

Theft-by-deception case

BOARDMAN

A township business owner faces a theft-by-deception charge after police said he took $850 from a customer but did not follow through on the service.

Jermaine Moncrief, 29, of Canfield, owner of Valley Sports Nutrition, 1295 Boardman-Canfield Road, was arrested at the business Friday.

A victim told police he gave Moncrief $850 to order weights, but did not receive them after several months.

Moncrief was released on a summons and is scheduled to appear in Mahoning County Area Court here today.

Charged in robbery

WARREN

Kenneth A. Nezbeth, 36, of King Graves Road in Howland and North Park Circle in Brookfield, was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated robbery, accused of committing the Nov. 23 armed robbery of Michelle’s Mart, 1837 Brookfield Road in Brookfield.

Nezbeth was in the Trumbull County jail Monday morning and is due for an arraignment this week in Girard Municipal Court, where the aggravated- robbery charge was filed.

Police said Nezbeth pointed a gun at a small child in the store and told the store manager, “Get it. Get it,” while seeking cash from the register. He obtained the cash and fled.

Sentenced to prison

WARREN

Shane T. McElfresh, 35, of Dove Drive Southwest in Lords-town, pleaded guilty to felony domestic violence and felony abduction Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court and was sentenced to three years in prison.

McElfresh committed the crimes against a woman who lived with him last December.

He was previously convicted of domestic violence three times in three months in Zanesville in fall 2013 and was convicted of assault in a similar case in Ravenna about seven years before that, according to court documents.

Fire not suspicious

CANFIELD

The cause of a fire here Monday was unknown, but not suspicious, said Chief Don Hutchison of the Cardinal Joint Fire District.

Hutchison said a neighbor called in a fire at 322 E. Main St. at 12:02 p.m. Monday.

There were no injuries, and the fire was confined to the living room. Fire officials left the residence about 1:20 p.m. The cause was not known Monday, but Hutchison said it was not suspicious. There was no estimate on the damage.

Fire crews from Austintown and Boardman assisted in a mutual-aid call.

Check-cashing case

BOARDMAN

Township police are investigating a case in which someone reportedly forged and cashed checks worth more than $1,000.

A man told police Saturday someone had cashed numerous checks that belonged to his disabled brother and also made purchases at Walmart using forged checks.

The man told police he believes a family associate is a suspect.

Autism workshop set

YOUNGSTOWN

The Autism Society of Ohio’s Mahoning Valley office, 25 East Boardman St., Suite 236, will host the “Advocating for your Child: Answering Common Questions for Children with Autism and Related Disabilities” workshop at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Jen Gonda, a certified special-education teacher and board-certified behavior analyst, will serve as discussion moderator.

There is a suggested donation of $20. Participants are asked to RSVP to mahoningvalley@autismohio.org or 330-743-9184.

MVSD board to meet

MINERAL RIDGE

The Mahoning Valley Sanitary District board meets at 4 p.m. today at the district’s offices, 1181 Ohltown-McDonald Road.

The district oversees operation of the Meander Reservoir, the primary source of drinking water for thousands of Valley consumers.

Break-in before fire?

YOUNGSTOWN

Police are investigating the possibility that a break-in may have preceded an early-morning fire at Youngstown Auto Salvage over the weekend.

Fire Chief John O’Neill told 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, when firefighters arrived on the scene, flames were showing from the second floor in the front of the building.

O’Neill said it seems the two-alarm fire had three different points of origin.

The damage to the building and several cars on the lot are believed to be extensive.