Man dies in car crash

Man dies in car crash

LEAVITTSBURG

Seth Reckert, 38, of Leavittsburg, died in a 9:30 p.m. single-car crash on Eagle Creek Road Sunday.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Reckert was driving west on Eagle Creek Road at a high rate of speed and failed to negotiate a curve to the left, traveling off of the right side of the road and striking a sign post and a driveway access. The vehicle became airborne and overturned after it landed, coming to rest on its roof.

Reckert was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene. A male, 17, was also in the vehicle. He was wearing a seat belt and was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.

The crash is under investigation.

Traffic to halt on SR 5/82

WARREN

From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, state Routes 5 and 82 under West Market Street again will have 10-minute periods of stopped traffic at 30-minute intervals for bridge beam removal, as was the case Monday, the Ohio Department of Transportation has announced.

West Market Street over state Routes 5 and 82 is closed through mid-October for the bridge replacement.

Sentenced in abuse case

YOUNGSTOWN

A New Middletown man is going to jail for abusing a patient at a nursing home.

Richard Johnson, 62, appeared in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Friday, where he was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years’ probation, according to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Johnson could have been sentenced to 18 months in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of patient abuse in March. He was originally charged with gross sexual imposition.

The indictment alleged that Johnson engaged in sexual conduct with an 80-year-old woman suffering from dementia while he was employed as a maintenance worker at the nursing facility.

The charges followed an investigation by the Ohio Department of Health and the state attorney general’s office, which did not name the nursing facility.

Roads closed for Relay

WARREN

The following roads will be closed at 6 p.m. Thursday for the Relay For Life: Mahoning Avenue at High Street and Market Street; Market Street at Mahoning and Park avenues; and High Street at Mahoning and Park avenues.

North Park Avenue will be taken to a one-lane roadway, with the lane closest to the square being closed.

The streets will reopen at 10 a.m. May 9.

Man killed with rifle

NEW CASTLE, Pa.

A man is in custody after police said another man was shot and killed with a semiautomatic rifle at 2:15 a.m. today at a home in the 300 block of Bell Avenue.

Police identified the victim as Victor Ward, no age given, who was killed after a family dispute.

The release said that Ward was arguing with Takeo Cox, 20, and Cox shot him several times. Cox turned himself in to police at 4 a.m. Reports said police also found the rifle believed to be used in the shooting.

Cox is in the Lawrence County jail on charges of homicide and aggravated assault.

Discussing park issues

CANFIELD

Concerned Citizens for Mill Creek Park will have a public meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. next Tuesday at the Canfield Library, 43 W. Main St. The public is invited to share concerns about Mill Creek Park issues. Possible responses to recent Mill Creek Park actions will be discussed in preparation for the Park’s Board of Commissioners monthly meeting May 16.

Sentenced for trafficking

warren

Craig J. Liebal, 27, of Genessee Avenue Northeast, was sentenced to nine months in prison Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for cocaine trafficking and trafficking in a counterfeit controlled substance.

Liebal was one of three men charged with drug offenses in the aftermath of the April 2015 overdose death of Megan Fitzgerald, 24, of Champion.

Liebal’s offenses were not directly related to Fitzgerald’s death, but his crimes were discovered while police were “tracking back” and investigating the people who supplied the drug to her, investigators said.

Maurice Bryant, 28, of Shady Lane in Howland was sentenced last month to three years in prison for providing the fatal dose of drugs that killed Fitzgerald.

Woman’s purse stolen

WARREN

A woman, 53, of Warren, reported being robbed of her purse in the parking lot of Giant Eagle, 2700 Mahoning Ave. NW, at 11:55 a.m. Sunday as she was walking to her car with her groceries.

A man started talking to her about her sick son, and she said she wouldn’t give him any money, but he grabbed her purse and “yanked” it from her, twisting her fingers, and ran away with the purse.

Girl, 5, found walking

WARREN

Police investigated after a woman reported finding a girl, 5, of Youngstown Road, walking alone at 9:30 p.m. Thursday between apartments on North Feederle Street Southeast on Thursday without coat, shoes or socks in 46-degree weather.

Two people who saw the child took her into an apartment to get her warm and give her a jacket, socks and shoes. They found a phone number for the girl’s mother and called it, but they did not hear from the mother for about 21/2 hours.

She said that either she or the child’s father would come for the child, but when nobody did, the people who found the child called 911. Police contacted Trumbull County Children Services, which located the child’s great-grandmother, and the child stayed with her.

Cited after checkpoints

YOUNGSTOWN

Four people were cited on a charge of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs during two Mahoning County OVI Task Force sobriety checkpoints over the weekend.

Checkpoints took place from 10 p.m. to midnight Friday in the 2200 block of Mahoning Avenue and from 1 to 3 a.m. Saturday at Glenwood Avenue and Playhouse Lane.

Police said 467 vehicles passed through both checkpoints and 18 other people were issued citations for other offenses.

Learning about office

POLAND

Employees from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office will be at the Poland library branch, 311 S. Main St., from 2 to 4 p.m. May 20 so residents can learn about the office.

Voter registration forms and election information will be available. Also, representatives will answer questions about the other functions of the office such as the business services division, and initiatives including the Ohio Business Profile and Military Ready-to-Vote programs.

Office employees will also be at the Columbiana library, 332 N. Middle St. from 2 to 4 p.m. May 26.

Man is shot in leg

WARREN

A Jackson Street Southwest man, 28, reported being shot in the leg as he walked along Main Avenue Southwest near First Street at 4:25 p.m. Sunday.

The victim said a man he didn’t know dropped him off at ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Police had been called to an area nearby at Highland Avenue and Second Street Southwest at 4:25 p.m. for reports of shots being fired.

A group of men there said they heard gunshots and saw a maroon sport utility vehicle racing down the street. Police found shell casings on the ground.

A man walking had fired at the SUV before running toward Second Street, they said.

Police probe burglary

Boardman

Police are investigating a Sunday afternoon burglary at an apartment on Lemans Drive.

The tenant said he returned at 2:30 p.m. and noticed his door open and items missing. Officers noticed pry marks on the door.

Taken were a large-screen TV, gaming systems, shoes, jewelry and motorcycle parts.