Lockdown suspect pleads to drug charges

Lockdown suspect pleads to drug charges

YOUNGSTOWN

A man who was the subject of a search Monday that led to a lockdown at Youngstown State University pleaded guilty Wednesday in municipal court to an unrelated minor misdemeanor drug possession charge.

Robert Allen, 19, was fined $100 and costs by Judge Renee DiSalvo after entering his plea.

Police were searching for Allen on Monday after they received reports he was involved in an argument on campus with another man and may have had a gun with him.

Allen surrendered to YSU police, was booked into the Mahoning County jail on a warrant for failure to appear for the drug case, then posted bond before pleading guilty. He has not yet been charged in connection with the lockdown.

Brown on task force

YOUNGSTOWN

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown has been selected to be a member of the National League of Cities Task Force on Housing.

“I believe we will be able to tackle the multitude of issues surrounding housing affordability and availability,” Brown said. “I look forward to getting to work with those selected for this task force and coming up with concrete solutions for housing throughout the country.”

There are 18 members on the task force. It will address how communities can better respond to the challenge of housing availability, affordability, investment and quality.

Arraigned on 7 charges

YOUNGSTOWN

A Covington Street man charged with seven felonies after his arrest Friday after a foot chase where a gun he was carrying went off was arraigned in municipal court.

Judge Renee DiSalvo set bond at $90,000 Wednesday for Eric Gilford, 21. Among the charges is a felony charge of possession of cocaine.

Gilford was arrested about 9:35 p.m. at Fairgreen and Covington avenues on the North Side after leading police on a car-and-foot chase. Reports said as Gilford was running, a gun he was holding that was pointed backward fired once.

He was stopped after he was shot with a stun weapon, reports said. Gilford also faces assault and fleeing and eluding charges.

Charges on credit card

AUSTINTOWN

A Woodridge Drive man told township police he believes a co-worker charged about $20,000 to his ailing mother’s credit card.

The man said he invited the co-worker to move into the residence last year to help care for the woman while he was at work. The co-worker was given one of the woman’s credit cards to buy groceries or home-care products, according to a township police report.

He said he noticed several unauthorized purchases to the card, beginning in April and now totaling about $20,000. The card has since been canceled and the co-worker no longer lives at the residence, he said. Township detectives continue to investigate.

Phony fire call made

AUSTINTOWN

A juvenile calmly told Canfield fire dispatchers his parents were trapped in a burning Meanderwood Drive home, according to a township police report.

The phony fire call to the 3100 block of Meanderwood came from a blocked number sometime before 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, the report states.

Upon Canfield and Austintown responders’ arrival, the resident said Youngstown responders had also been dispatched that night on a false alarm at their relative’s home in the 3400 block of Wendover Circle.

They told police they believe their nephew to be responsible, as the boy has a history of making fake emergency calls, according to the report. Township detectives continue to investigate.

Driver robbed of Jeep

WARREN

A driver was robbed at gunpoint and her Jeep was taken at noon Tuesday on East Market Street and Laird Avenue.

The driver, a city woman, 34, said she and her friend were giving a ride to a male. They pulled into the BP gas station, 1290 E. Market St., and the man put a gun to the driver’s head and robbed her of items from her pocket valued at $5, then threw her out of the car and drove off.

The report does not say what happened to the other female or give a specific description of the vehicle.

Pleads guilty to charges

WARREN

Jay D. Walters, 34, of Roosevelt Avenue in Newton Falls pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to reduced felony charges of attempted felonious assault, assault on a peace officer and resisting arrest. He also pleaded guilty to aggravated drug possession in a separate case.

The first set of charges relate to a Nov. 8, 2017, incident that began at the Bazetta Township Walmart and ended about 90 minutes later. Walmart employees called 911 to report Walters had shoplifted in the store and left.

Police approached Walters as he was getting gas at the Murphy’s gas station near Walmart. Walters fled in a pickup truck after a struggle with an officer that included Walters being hit with a stun gun. Police learned that after leaving Murphy’s, Walters traveled into northern Trumbull County and then west into Garrettsville, where he was arrested. Walters will be sentenced in about four weeks.

HIV+ man pleads guilty

WARREN

Peter Olivarez, 40, of Raglan Drive in Howland and State Road in Champion, pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to two reduced counts of attempted felonious assault.

His indictment accused him of having sex with two women from 2013 to 2015 without disclosing that he carries the virus that causes AIDS. Two additional counts of felonious assault will be dismissed when he is sentenced.

Olivarez could get one year in prison on each conviction when he is sentenced in about four weeks, after the county Adult Probation Department conducts a background investigation. Olivarez was indicted in March.

Fraudulent credit line

AUSTINTOWN

A 19-year-old Kinsman woman claims her former case worker stole her identity and used it to open and max out a credit card, according to a township police report.

The woman told police she recognized a second name attached to the fraudulent credit line: that of her former case worker at Comprehensive Behavioral Health Associates along Javit Court, a 37-year-old Boardman resident.

She said she learned the card was maxed out at $376 with interest when the bank contacted her about nonpayment. She said she believes the case worker stole her personal records, including her Social Security number, while working at the counseling center.

The woman said the case worker is no longer employed with the center, and was either terminated or quit, according to the report. Center representatives were not available to comment Wednesday.

Grocery store reopens after burglar removed

FARRELL, PA.

A city grocery store has reopened after being surrounded by police and crime scene tape Wednesday morning.

Several law-enforcement agencies were on the scene investigating after an overnight incident inside the store led to a suspect being shot by police, according to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

Farrell police, Pennsylvania State Police and a forensics team could be seen outside the Golden Dawn store on Sharon-New Castle Road.

Hermitage Police Chief Eric Jewell told 21 News about 1 a.m. Farrell police officers were responding to a call of someone inside the store and called out for assistance from surrounding communities.

Jewell said officers entered the store and found a suspect inside. The suspect “posed a threat to officers,” Jewell said. At that point, a Hermitage police officer, as well as an officer from another department fired at the suspect.

The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital. It is not immediately clear what the extent of the injuries are or what the burglar’s condition is.

Pennsylvania State Police and the Mercer County District Attorney’s Office are handling the investigation.

Thunderbirds to return

VIENNA

The Thunderbirds will be returning to the Youngstown Air Reserve Base in a couple of years, said 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

According to the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds website, the Thunderbirds will be returning to the air base June 20-21, 2020.

It has been two years since the high flying, daring air show has been in the Youngstown area. The Mahoning Valley will be able to witness the choreographed pilots take flight once again after their show in 2017 was canceled.

Fill A Cruiser event set

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Police Department along with other law-enforcement agencies will be having its fourth annual Fill A Cruiser event from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of St. Christine Church, 3125 S. Schenley Ave.

The event allows the department to give new toys to needy families throughout the city. They are typically delivered a few days before Christmas by the Community Police Unit. Police ask that the gifts be unwrapped. They will also accept monetary donations. Anyone with questions can call officer Michael Bodnar at 330-742-8897.

Rotary to collect items

STRUTHERS

The Struthers Rotary Community Corps will collect any canned goods or food items to provide food boxes to families within the Struthers schools community. Parents can send food with their students for drop off until Friday, or donations can be made at city hall at the prosecutor’s office.

Roads closed for event

warren

The city announced these roads will be closed from 2 to 10 p.m. Friday for Christmas in the Square: Mahoning Avenue at High and Market, Market Street at Mahoning and Park, Park Avenue at Market and High, and High Street at Park and Mahoning.