Standoff closes roads

Standoff closes roads

BERLIN CENTER

U.S. Route 224 and state Route 534 were closed for nearly eight hours Monday after a standoff between police and a suicidal man on West Akron-Canfield Road.

The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office got a call from the man’s sister, who said her brother was suicidal and considering suicide by cop, at 12:44 a.m.

The Mahoning County Critical Response Team established a perimeter and began to negotiate with the man. He surrendered peacefully at 9:15 a.m.

The man had multiple weapons in the house, but came out unarmed, Sheriff Jerry Greene said.

“This was a great collaboration with multiple agencies,” Greene said. “The negotiators did an outstanding job. They did what they were supposed to do, and it was successful.”

$10K scholarship

YOUNGSTOWN

Jordan Roush, an accounting major in Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration, will receive the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Scholarship totaling $10,000 for the 2017-18 academic year.

Roush is the first YSU student to receive the PCAOB scholarship, which covers expenses such as tuition, fees, books and supplies.

On an annual basis, the PCAOB, with the help of Scholarship America, reaches out to university faculty to nominate eligible students who demonstrate interest and aptitude in accounting and auditing. The scholarship is awarded to one student per participating university.

Committee meeting

AUSTINTOWN

Mahoning County District Board of Health’s Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. today at the health board office, 50 Westchester Drive.

Bullet wounds to legs

YOUNGSTOWN

Reports said a man with bullet wounds to both legs told police Sunday he shot himself after giving several conflicting stories.

Officers were called about 7:05 p.m. to a South Side home in the 500 block of West Hylda Avenue for a report of a man shot, and when they arrived, they found a 19-year-old man lying on the floor bleeding from gunshot wounds.

Reports said the victim told police several stories of how he was wounded until he went to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, where police were told the person said he had shot himself.

Preparation program

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University is one of five Ohio universities to collaborate on the first multi-institution preparation program designed to increase the number of teachers of students with visual impairments or TVIs in the state.

The Ohio Deans Compact on Exceptional Children approved the program for lead institution, Shawnee State University, YSU, Kent State University, Mount Vernon Nazarene University and University of Rio Grande.

All five institutions are working together to provide a common online curriculum leading to TVI licensure.

Hearing moved

WARREN

The sentencing hearing for Russell Lauer III, 44, of Cortland, who pleaded guilty to killing a jogger along Ridge Road Feb. 27, 2016, has been moved back to 8:30 a.m. Aug. 21.

Lauer pleaded guilty June 26 before Judge Peter Kontos of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to aggravated vehicular homicide, failure to stop after an accident, operating a motor vehicle impaired and failing to drive in the marked lanes.

His plea agreement calls for him to get eight years in prison. Lauer killed Brittany Szwedko, 28, of Cortland.

Man gets 3 years in jail

WARREN

A Windham man was sentenced to three years in prison Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for breaking into a home on Edgewood Street Northeast in May.

James E. Ashby, 47, of state Route 303, was sentenced after pleading guilty to burglary and trespassing into a habitation where a person is present or likely to be present.

When officers arrived at the Edgewood address for a burglar alarm, an officer observed Ashby running from the front of the home.

Officers chased him on Edgewood and Atlantic streets, catching him in the 1700 block of Atlantic and taking him into custody.

Officers found a crack pipe and a computer tablet in Ashby’s pockets. The owner of the Maplewood address said later the computer tablet belonged to her.

Another sentence

WARREN

Robert M. Karpenko, 44, who has been serving a prison sentence in Florida for nearly four years, returned to Trumbull County Monday to get another four-year sentence.

Karpenko pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to breaking and entering, vandalism, grand theft and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity stemming from the sale of items through the Pine Ridge Auction Center in Leavittsburg.

Several people were involved in the enterprise.

The offenses occurred around 2009. Karpenko was living in Girard.

Endorsed by Ryan

YOUNGSTOWN

State Rep. Kathleen Clyde, who is running next year for the Democratic nomination for secretary of state, is the first statewide candidate endorsed by U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan for the 2018 election cycle.

Clyde, of Kent, D-75th, is the only announced Democrat seeking the party’s nomination for secretary of state.

“Whether it’s fighting for good paying jobs in Northeast Ohio, working to make college more affordable, or standing up for voting rights, Kathleen Clyde has a track record of always putting Ohioans first,” said Ryan of Howland, D-13th. “That is why I’m proud to support Kathleen’s campaign for secretary of state. We need more leaders like Kathleen in Columbus, who will end the partisan games and put Ohioans first.”

Additional session

AUSTINTOWN

There will be an additional work session for the Austintown school board today at the board office in the conference room, 700 S. Raccoon Road, after the 2 p.m. regular session meeting. Jack Slavinski will speak on professional development.

Trustees meeting

BROOKFIELD

Brookfield Township trustees will meet at 1 p.m. today for a special meeting with executive session regarding personnel at the township hall, 6844 Strimbu Drive.

Boy, 3, drowns in pool

NEW CASTLE, PA.

Authorities say a 3-year-old boy drowned in a pool in the area over the weekend.

Emergency personnel in Lawrence County were called to the Neshannock Township pool just before 6 p.m. Sunday after the boy was found unresponsive.

When first responders arrived, they found family and friends performing CPR on the child. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead early Monday.

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said the death of 3-year-old Geovonni Rotar was due to drowning and ruled the death accidental.