METRO DIGEST || Dog found dead in South Side break-in

Dog found dead in South Side break-in

YOUNGSTOWN

A woman who discovered her home broken into Wednesday also found her dog shot to death in the basement.

Police were called to a home in the 300 block of Cornell Avenue on the South Side about 1:45 p.m., where the woman told them she had been gone from her home since 1 a.m. Saturday. She returned Wednesday after a friend called and told her the garage door was open.

The home was ransacked, and everything of value inside was taken, reports said.

The dog was shot in the head, and officers found a spent .22-caliber shell casing next to the animal and a spent .22-caliber round underneath the pet, reports said.

A side door was forced open, reports said. Animal Charity was called to remove the dog, and they will conduct an investigation with police.

W. Side drug arrest

YOUNGSTOWN

A woman found passed out in a car about 10:35 p.m. Wednesday at a West Side gas station was arrested on several drug charges.

Reports said officers were called to a 1 N. Meridian Road gas station for a report of a woman who had been asleep in a car for several hours and found Christie Parks, 26, asleep inside. Next to her on the seat was two needles, two spoons and a bottle that had about 30 pills inside, reports said.

Reports said Parks was awakened, and she told police the pills belonged to a friend. Parks told police she had not injected herself with anything but reports noted she had needle tracks covering her arms and legs.

An ambulance was called to treat Parks. She is charged with possession of drugs, possession of drug-abuse instruments and possession of drug paraphernalia.

S. Side drug arrest

YOUNGSTOWN

Police found 15 bags of suspected marijuana inside a car they pulled over Wednesday afternoon at Hillman Street and West Judson Avenues for improper passing.

Maurice Barnes, 50, was booked into the Mahoning County jail on charges of trafficking in drugs, driving under suspension and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

Reports said officers smelled marijuana in the car after they pulled it over and called for a police dog, which found the drugs and a digital scale inside the center console.

Awards to be revealed

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will reveal its fiscal year 2016 Criminal Justice-Behavioral Health Linkages grants at a news conference Thursday.

The event, hosted by the Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board in partnership with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, will take place from 1 to 1:45 p.m. at the Minimum Security Jail, 360 W. Commerce St. Mahoning County is one of 38 Ohio counties selected to receive funding. In all, Ohio will provide $3 million to support 23 projects in FY 2016.

Speakers include Duane Piccirilli, executive director, Mahoning County Mental Health and Recovery Board; Tracy Plouck, director, OhioMHAS; Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene; Wendy Laurenzi, director of forensic services, Turning Point Counseling Services, Inc. and Larry Moliterno, president and CEO, Meridian Community Services.

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