Coroner’s comments

Coroner’s comments

WARREN

A Trumbull County Coroner’s official “has no concern for foul play” in the death of Phil Annarella Jr., 70, Austintown Fitch High School football coach, county forensic pathologist Dr. George Sterbenz said Wednesday.

Dr. Sterbenz said Annarella’s death appears to be natural causes, but the final autopsy results are not yet available. The family is having an autopsy done by MetroHealth in Cleveland.

Annarella, who coached football in the Mahoning Valley more than 40 years, was found dead in his Niles home.

Man shot in stomach

YOUNGSTOWN

Police said a man in his 60s who was wounded in a shooting early Wednesday is in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

The man was found about 2:30 a.m. at a rowhouse-style apartment building in the 800 block of Steel Street on the West Side. He had been shot in the stomach, police said.

Police are still trying to determine if the man lived in the building or was somewhere else when he was shot and came there for help.

DNA match leads to felony burglary charge

YOUNGSTOWN

Police used DNA collected from blood found on a jewelry box in a March break-in to charge a man with a felony charge of burglary.

A warrant was filed Tuesday in municipal court charging Marquis Thomas, 23, for a March 27 break-in at a home in the 500 block of East Lucius Avenue. He is not yet in custody.

Reports said the homeowner found a door kicked in, the South Side house ransacked and two watches, a television and a video game system taken. There was also blood on a jewelry box, reports said.

Reports said police took the jewelry box, got a blood sample from it and sent it to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification for testing.

When the results showed the DNA in the blood matched Thomas, reports said police got a warrant and tested Thomas’ DNA to make sure it matched.

When they found it did, the charge was filed.

Testimony continues in child-endangering case

YOUNGSTOWN

Testimony continued Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court in the trial of a man accused of shaking a baby and causing severe injuries to the baby boy.

Eric Pendland, 37, is charged with two felony counts of child endangering. He was indicted in August 2017.

Judge Anthony Donofrio is hearing the case. Testimony began Monday after a jury was selected.

Jurors heard Wednesday afternoon from a doctor who performed surgeries on the child because of the injuries he sustained.

City man faces felony, misdemeanor charges

YOUNGSTOWN

Police serving a search warrant about 6:35 p.m. Tuesday investigating drug activity at a 34 New York Avenue home found a .38-caliber revolver, crack cocaine, marijuana and a digital scale.

Arrested on felony charges of possession of cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm was Earl Lewis, 35, who lists the North Side home as his address.

He also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lewis spent the night in the Mahoning County jail. His bond was set at $5,000 at his arraignment Wednesday, and his preliminary hearing is set for next Wednesday.

Re-trial set for July

WARREN

The re-trial of Julian C. Gibson, 21, of Salt Springs Road, Youngstown on a charge of assault of a police officer has been set for 11 a.m. July 15.

Gibson’s trial in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court had nearly reached the end April 25 when a witness made a remark that led to the mistrial.

The charge stems from Gibson’s early-morning Aug. 26, 2017, arrest behind an apartment building on Hadley Avenue in Liberty.

Patrolman Robert Altier was with Sgt. Daniel Kovach when Gibson came out of the apartment building with a friend, and Altier advised Gibson he was under arrest because of marijuana Altier had found in Gibson’s car in the apartment parking lot. A struggle ensued, and Altier suffered some bruising.

Storefronts vandalized

BOARDMAN

Multiple storefronts on Boardman-Poland Road were vandalized Monday night, according to police reports.

Burkland Floral and Once Upon a Child reported that a window and front door were shattered. Police are seeking surveillance footage from nearby businesses.

Facing theft charge

YOUNGSTOWN

A woman police said stole a man’s car who picked her up for sex is in the Mahoning County jail.

Shawna Starks, 34, was arraigned today in municipal court on a charge of theft. Magistrate Anthony Sertick set her bond at $5,000.

Police said an 85-year-old man picked up Starks at a rehab facility June 6 for sex and drove her back to his Judson Avenue home.

Reports said that Starks told the man to strip and she tied him up, blindfolded him and promised him something “exciting.”

After a period of silence the man managed to free himself and discovered his car was missing. Starks was arrested in the man’s car, police said.

Groundbreaking today

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. will break ground on the construction of three homes at 10 a.m. today at 4212 Helena Ave.

The single-family homes will be sold to homeowners as part of a planned strategy to revitalize Helena Ave.

Trustees to meet

WARREN

The Warren-Trumbull County Public Library board of trustees will meet at 5 p.m. today in meeting room A of the main library, 444 Mahoning Ave.

Lawmaker to visit

BOARDMAN

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, will visit the iCan Shine Bike Camp at Glenwood Junior High School, 7635 Glenwood Ave., which is run by the Down Syndrome Association of the Valley.

Participants learned to ride a two-wheeled bicycle over the course of this week using patented adaptive equipment through the nationally recognized program.

Johnson will present the participants with ribbons for successfully completing the weeklong course.

Annual synod assembly

GREENVILLE, PA.

Nearly 200 members of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Church in America will converge on Thiel College today through June 15 for the organization’s annual synod assembly.

As part of the gathering, a new bishop will be elected to replace retiring Bishop Ralph Jones. A celebration of Jones’ service will take place today in Sharon, Pa. Bishop Jones was awarded an honorary degree from Thiel College in 2005.

As part of the event, Thiel College graduate the Rev. Albert Gesler Jr., class of 1956, will be recognized for 60 years in ministry.

The Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod comprises 78 congregations and 19,115 baptized members across 11 counties.

Bridge repairs

BAZETTA

McCleary-Jacoby Road, at a township bridge between Knapp Drive and Cornerstone Drive, will be closed for bridge repairs Friday through June 21, the Trumbull County Engineer’s office announced.

The recommended detour route is as follows: east on state Route 305 and south on state Route 46.

Annual Safety Day set for Saturday

CORTLAND

The Bazetta Township Police and Fire Departments, in conjunction with the Mosquito Lake Marina, will host the 16th annual Safety Day from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at Mosquito Lake State Park, 1439 Wilson Sharpsville Road.

The event will include vehicles and representatives from local police and fire departments, state and federal agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There also will be booths from various safety organizations.

Special highlights this year include car retrieval by the Trumbull County sheriff’s dive team at 12:30 p.m., the Mahoning County Valley Crisis Response Team tactical vehicle “The Bear,” U.S. Air Force Security Forces, Heather Merritt’s Birds in Flight Sanctuary, Ohio Department of Wildlife and Watercraft, police canines, karate demonstrations and more.

The event will feature drawings for children’s bikes and other prizes.

For information, call 330-638-5503 or 330-637-2075.

Daddy Daughter Dance

YOUNGSTOWN

Warriors Inc. Daddy Daughter Dance will be from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Byzantine Center, 3801 Shady Run Road.

Fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers and fathers-in-law are welcome.

For information, contact Tammy Hale at 330-783-5440.

Agenda Friday

Brookfield Township trustees, special meeting, 9 a.m., conference room, Strimbu Trucking, 3500 Parkway Drive.

Columbiana County board of elections, 1:30 p.m., suite 3, 7989 Dickey Drive, Lisbon.

Trumbull County Senior Advisory Board, 1 p.m., special meeting to review transportation proposals; 2:30 p.m., regular meeting, senior levy administration office, 2931-A Youngstown Road, Warren.

AGENDA runs daily. Items for the column should arrive at The Vindicator Regional Desk at least two days in advance.

Surplus food

Price Memorial AME Zion Church, 920 Dryden Ave., Youngstown, various commodities, 10 a.m. to noon Friday. Recipients should bring proper identification.

Food-distribution notices are to be submitted by 3 p.m. the day before they are to be published.