METRO DIGEST || Powerstown Neighbors Block Watch

Powerstown Neighbors

YOUNGSTOWN

Powerstown Neighbors Block Watch will meet at 7 p.m. today at Faith Community Church, 1919 Midlothian Blvd. Councilwoman Basia Adamczak, D-7th, will discuss neighborhood issues.

Group home arrest

YOUNGSTOWN

Police arrested a 16-year-old male resident of a 246 Broadway Ave. group home Wednesday on a juvenile charge of aggravated arson in a fire at the home Monday, said Fire Investigator Capt. Kurt Wright.

The blaze, which broke out just after 8 p.m., caused $8,000 in damages. There were no injuries.

Reports said the fire appeared to have started under a set of bunk beds on the second floor. There were six residents and two supervisors at the home when the blaze broke out, but they all were waiting outside when firefighters arrived, reports said.

Toddler found on road

HOWLAND

Township police found a 3-year-old boy wandering near a road by himself Tuesday, and his mother faces a child-endangering charge.

The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, 21 WFMJ-TV, reported police found out where the child lived, authorities contacted Trumbull County Health department and children services.

Howland Police Chief Paul Monroe says the inside of the home was the worst he’s seen in his career. The boy was one of four children living inside a Howland Springs Road Southeast home. The others are 5, 10 and 13.

Police say they found the door open and the mother asleep on the couch. Upon searching the home, they found deplorable conditions.

Loretta Price, 42, is charged with one count of child endangering. Her four children are now staying with her ex-husband.

Bag snatcher

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said police caught a man downtown Monday who tried to take a bag from a woman about 7 a.m. at Watt and Wood streets.

Reports said the woman told police she had several bags when a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with his face covered grabbed at one of the bags she was carrying. The man did not get the bag, but did rip it open.

Several minutes later, officers spotted a man matching the suspect’s description behind the old Hub Restaurant at Market and Boardman streets downtown, reports said. He tried to run but was tackled before he could get far.

Deandre Williams, 21, of Youngstown, was booked into the Mahoning County jail on a robbery charge. His arraignment was set for today in municipal court.