METRO DIGEST || Suspect in Brier Hill shooting arrested

Brier Hill arrest

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown police along with the Marshals Task Force arrested a man late Thursday afternoon in Tuesday night’s shooting death of Ralph Thomas, 20, near Dupont and Hammaker streets in the city’s Brier Hill area.

Arrested at 5:50 p.m. without incident at an apartment on Lemans Avenue in Boardman was De’Ondre Gayles, 20, who is charged with Thomas’ murder. Gayles is in the Mahoning County jail awaiting arraignment in Youngstown Municipal Court.

Police say Thomas, of Youngstown, was in a car when he was fatally shot at point-blank range.

Railroad group event

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley Railroad Heritage Association will host its annual open house from noon to 4 p.m. July 30 at the Jim Marter Yard, 1340 Poland Ave.

Visitors will be invited to tour two P&LE cabooses, steam engine, Pollock steel ladle car, 60-ton GE locomotive, a one-of-a-kind Plymoth EL yard switcher, mold-transport car and box car. Association members will be on hand to answer questions about the steel and railroad industries. Snacks and drinks will be available. Cost is $1 per person; kids under 5 get in free. Applications for new members will be accepted. The MVRHA’s mission is to preserve equipment and materials from the railroads that served the steel industry in the Mahoning Valley. For information, visit mvrha.org, email info@mvrha.com or call 330-792-0339.

Real-estate taxes due

YOUNGSTOWN

Second half real-estate tax payments are due Aug. 5, the Mahoning County Treasurer’s Office has announced. Payments may be made in person at the treasurer’s office, 120 Market St., or at First National and Cortland banks or the Seven Seventeen Credit Union; by mail or online at treasurer.mahoningcountyoh.gov.