Won’t hear appeal

Won’t hear appeal

WARREN

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal that death-row inmate Charles Lorraine sought in hopes of getting a new trial. Lorraine, 52, killed Doris Montgomery, 80, and her husband, Raymond, 77, in their home on Haymaker Avenue Northwest in 1986.

Probing robberies

YOUNGSTOWN

Police are investigating robberies within two hours of each other Monday afternoon.

About 4:10 p.m., someone robbed the Pizza ‘N Gyro place, 2841 Market St., of an undetermined amount of money.

About 2 p.m., someone with a gun robbed the 1370 Belmont Ave. Dollar General. Police searched for the suspect with help of a police dog from Struthers that led them to a home in the 600 block of Fairmont Avenue, but that is where the search ended.

Child-endangering plea

WARREN

Thomas J. McDaniel, 31, of Willard Avenue Southeast, pleaded not guilty Monday to child endangering after police say he drove his child, age 16 months, down the middle of Grandview Avenue Saturday afternoon on a utility trailer attached to a “tractor.”

McDaniel told police he picked up the child from the baby sitter this way because he has no vehicle. The child’s car seat was not secured. McDaniel was told this was dangerous for the child, and he is not allowed to drive a tractor “down the middle of the roadway.”

The child’s mother and Trumbull County Children Services were notified, the tractor was towed and McDaniel was required to call for a ride home for him and the child. McDaniel was released on a personal recognizance bond.

OVI checkpoint results

AUSTINTOWN

Members of the Mahoning County OVI Task Force, in collaboration with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, conducted a sobriety checkpoint from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at 4477 Mahoning Ave. Heavy rains did impact the operations of the checkpoint. Saturation patrols also were conducted. Task-force agencies participating in the checkpoint were Canfield, Austintown, Beaver, Boardman, Goshen, Jackson, Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, Milton and New Middletown. A total of 343 vehicles passed through the checkpoint. There were four vehicles directed into the diversion area for further investigation. Enforcement activity associated with the checkpoints and patrols: Three summonses for driving under suspension, one summons for no operator’s license and one summons for drug abuse.

Man found dead

VERNON

A male was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound in a house fire in the 5000 block of Warner Road in Vernon Township between Bradley Brownley and Greenville Road on Monday.

Officials say when they arrived about 1 p.m., there were three fires on the property – in the house, barn and trailer. The Trumbull County Homicide Task Force is investigating.

Coroner IDs man

WARREN

The Trumbull County coroner’s office has identified the man found dead on Burnett Road in Warren Township on Friday as Kevin M. Daniels, 38, of Southern Boulevard Northwest. He was identified through fingerprints.

His death has been ruled a homicide as a result of gunshot wounds. This is the first homicide of the year in Warren Township.

Daniels’ body was found in the middle of Burnett Road at 6:48 p.m. Friday. It was found by a motorist, probably fairly soon after it was left there, said Daniel Peterson, acting Warren Township police chief.

Peterson said part of Burnett Road is heavily traveled during the week, when trucks use it to travel to and from the ArcelorMittal coke plant on Main Avenue Southwest.

Suit filed against city

YOUNGSTOWN

A Newton Falls woman filed a lawsuit against the city contending Youngstown is at fault for the death of a man who had a tree fall on him on the East Side.

The lawsuit was filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Cheryl Durig, executor of the estate of Thomas Morar, who was seriously injured while riding a motorcycle on Oak Street Extension on June 17, 2017, when a tree fell on him. Morar, who died in April, suffered significant injuries, emotional distress, humiliation and medical expenses as a result of the injury, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit contends the city was told before the accident the tree was a hazard.

Woman shot in arm

YOUNGSTOWN

Police are trying to figure out how a woman suffered a gunshot wound to the arm early Sunday. Police were called about 4:05 a.m. to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for a shooting victim, who told police her gun went off when she put it in her purse. Reports said, however, the woman also told officers she was shot somewhere on Steel Street but did not say how or if someone else shot her, reports said.

Assault on officer

YOUNGSTOWN

A West Ravenwood Avenue woman faces a felony charge of assault on a police officer after reports said she bit an officer in the finger Saturday morning.

Officers were called to her home about 10:15 a.m. for a fight and reports said the woman, Shaniece Harris, 31, admitted punching her fiance twice in the face during an argument, reports said.

Reports said when she was told she was under arrest, she refused to allow herself to be taken into custody and officers had to pry a child out of her arms so they could handcuff her.

Officers took Harris to the ground while they tried to handcuff her, and that is when she bit one of the officers, reports said.

She also faces charges of domestic violence and resisting arrest. She spent the weekend in the Mahoning County jail.