Sentenced in sex case

Sentenced in sex case

WARREN

Kiwan R. Warren-Herrod, 21, of Oxford Street, Youngstown was sentenced to a year in prison Thursday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for having consensual sex with girls 14 and 15 and other offenses.

Children under 16 are not legally allowed to consent to having sex, prosecutors say.

Warren-Herrod also pleaded guilty to importuning for chatting on social media with one or more of the girls about sex and compelling prostitution for offering the girls money for sex, prosecutors said.

He is also labeled a Tier 2 sex offender, which requires him to register with law enforcement every 180 days for the next 25 years. Police said Warren-Herrod and another male picked up the girls from Liberty.

Child ingests pills

WARREN

A 21/2-year-old child of Chestnut Street Northeast fell partially unconscious from taking a prescription drug and was flown by helicopter to Akron Children’s Hospital on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

A woman in the house told police the girl had brought a pill bottle and cap over to her mother. The cap was off and three of the pills were missing, the woman said.

Ambulance workers took the child to St. Joseph Warren Hospital, which transferred the girl to Akron. Police did not have any update on the child’s condition Friday afternoon.

Smoke inhalation kills 2

WARREN

The Trumbull County coroner has ruled the deaths of Bradley M. Crist, 54, and Jacob Crist, 15, to have been from smoke inhalation in a Monday fire in their home on Scott Avenue in Niles.

“There is ‘no concern’ that foul play was involved in their deaths,” the coroner’s office reported in a news release.

Bradley Crist’s wife, Diane L. Crist, 44, and another son, Jesse Crist, 17, suffered smoke and heat injuries in the fire but survived. They were taken to different hospitals for treatment. An attempt to get an update on their conditions was unsuccessful.

The Ohio State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause.

Death ruled a suicide

WARREN

The Trumbull County coroner has ruled the death of Bryan Ayala, 17, of Robert Lane Northeast, found in the Mahoning River on May 17 in Perkins Park to be suicide. The body was found about 7 p.m. by a man attending a softball game in the park, reports said. The teen was later identified using dental records.

Ga. fugitive found

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. marshals arrested a man Friday wanted on a warrant for terroristic threats out of Georgia.

Ladarryl Crowder, 30, was arrested at a home on New York Avenue on the North Side, a marshals spokesman said. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail to await extradition to Georgia.

Marshals also found guns and drugs in the home. An additional person, Christopher Hill, no age or address given, was taken into custody by city police.

Warren men sentenced

YOUNGSTOWN

Two Warren men were sentenced this week in the U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio in separate cases for selling drugs.

Jarrel Freeman, 31, was sentenced Friday to 21 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of possession with intent to deliver controlled substances. He was arrested in September 2017 by Warren police during a traffic stop where fentanyl was found.

Antwon Williams, also 31, was sentenced Thursday to 64 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. An indictment said he had fentanyl in February 2018 and crack cocaine in March 2018.

Man critical after surgery

YOUNGSTOWN

Police said a man shot in the stomach about 3:20 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of a store at Market and Cleveland streets underwent surgery Thursday evening and was in critical condition afterward. Police found the man at Jordan’s Market after a call for a shooting.

A man at the scene who was taken into custody, Layne Edge, 22, of Cleveland, was booked into the Mahoning County jail on a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia charge. He remained in the jail Friday afternoon. No one has been charged yet in the shooting.

Harvest for Hunger

YOUNGSTOWN

The 28th annual Harvest for Hunger campaign, sponsored by the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley, raised $235,218 and collected 36,497 pounds of food to provide 1,441,722 meals to hungry families in the region.

Harvest for Hunger is a food and funds drive that takes place each spring to help stock the food bank shelves for the spring and summer months when donations taper off.

Last year, Harvest for Hunger raised $234,611 and collected nearly 32,000 pounds of food.

All funds raised and food collected remains in Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties to help feed those in need.

The Vindicator was among the sponsors of this year’s campaign.

2 arrested during raids

YOUNGSTOWN

Members of the vice squad and Community Police Unit serving warrants Thursday at two different homes investigating drug activity arrested a person at each home.

About 6 p.m. at an 82 LaBelle Ave. home, Wonakee Taylor, 37, was arrested on drug charges after officers found two bags of fentanyl and a scale in her South Side home.

About 5:10 p.m., Jason Johnson, 40, was taken into custody at his East Side home at 1531 Oak Lane on drug and weapons charges after police found a .22-caliber pistol, a 9 mm pistol, several pills, two bags of suspected crack cocaine, a bag of suspected marijuana, a scale and two heroin presses.

Both spent the night in the Mahoning County jail.

Sentenced for burglary

YOUNGSTOWN

Judge Anthony Donofrio of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Jason Vaughn to three years in prison Friday after Vaughn pleaded guilty to a felony charge of burglary.

Vaughn, 40, of Medford Avenue, will be given 98 days’ credit he has served in the county jail waiting for his case to be completed. He was charged in a Feb. 22 burglary at a home on Medford, where jewelry and loose change were taken.

His attorney, Andrew Zellers, said his client has been suffering from a drug addiction since he was 13 and he was on drugs when he committed the crime. Vaughn must also pay the victim $150 restitution.

WRTA to offer service to Alliance center

YOUNGSTOWN

Beginning Monday, the Western Reserve Transit Authority will offer service to and from the Alliance Transit Center through its countywide service.

From the center, riders can then board any Alliance bus route operated by the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority.

Those buses operate Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Riders must register by calling 330-744-8431.

Once registered, a rider can call that same number to register a ride to the Alliance Transit Center. Rides must be scheduled 24 hours in advance. The fare is $3.50 each way, and $2.50 each way for senior citizens or people with disabilities. Children under 6 ride free. Transfers to the SARTA system are free.

2019 Riverfest at B&O

YOUNGSTOWN

Friends of the Mahoning River present 2019 Riverfest along the Mahoning River at the B&O Station, 530 Mahoning Ave., from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Opening ceremony is at 11:30 a.m.

The event is free, with vendors, food trucks, bounce house and slide for the kids and canoe and kayaking for everyone.