Niles man gets three years for DUI
WARREN - A Niles man was sentenced to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to his eighth drunken-driving charge since 1992.
Ronald Scott Henderson, 41, of Maple Street, also saw Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Andrew Logan revoke his license for life; was fined $800 and ordered to pay $500 - the value of the auto he was driving when he was stopped Oct. 26, 2010, on Warren Sharon Road, just east of state Route 193 in Vienna.
An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper stopped Henderson for speeding before convincing him to turn over a urine sample, which later showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.204 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.8 in Ohio.
Warren man suffers injuries in Pa. crash
PITTSBURGH - A Warren man was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh with severe injuries after the car he was driving skidded off the Pennsylvania Turnpike in New Sewickley Township in Beaver County, Pa., the Beaver County Times reported.
Paul L. Webber, 39, suffered back and neck injuries in the crash, which tied up traffic on the turnpike's eastbound lanes while firefighters cut the roof off of Webber's car, according to state police.
Police said Webber and four passengers were headed east around 4:55 p.m. Monday after a thunderstorm when the car hydroplaned near the closed rest stop in New Sewickley; the car struck an embankment and rolled several times before coming to a rest on the driver's side.
Police said Webber was taken to Allegheny General Hospital, which had no information about his condition on Tuesday.
The four passengers - Warren residents Carrie Webber, 36; Robert Webber, 10; Ethan Webber, 8; and Conner Webber, 7 - all escaped injury, state police said.
Black bear reported on Warren's southwest side
WARREN - A black bear was seen Tuesday night in the area of Highland and Main avenues and First Street, running into a wooded area near the Mahoning River.
Between 8 and 9 p.m., residents called police, reporting a bear estimated at more than five feet long on the railroad tracks near Highland and Main avenues. Residents also watching for the bear reported having heard branches and twigs cracking as if a large animal was traveling through the nearby woods.
Bears were reported last week in Braceville and Howland townships.
Police: Man with loaded handgun arrested
WARREN - A Youngstown man was being held at the Trumbull County Jail Tuesday night after city police discovered he was carrying a loaded handgun, officers reported.
Police said they arrested Prescott Walters, 48, after they saw the handgun, which was "in plain sight" when they stopped his vehicle in a routine traffic stop. The vehicle was pulled over at the intersection of Duke Avenue S.E. and Draper Street S.E., police said.
Police said they planned to file charges against Prescott today. The two officers who arrested Prescott are members of the anti-gun program VGRIP, officially known as the Violence and Gun Reduction Interdiction Program that is run with help from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland and combines patrols with the U.S. Marhal's Office in known crime trouble spots.
Kasich names new jobs chief, 3rd since January
COLUMBUS - Ohio Gov. John Kasich has appointed a new director of the state's economic development department as he dismantles the agency, his third pick to lead the office since becoming governor in January.
Kasich said Tuesday that Department of Development general counsel Christiane Schmenk would head the agency beginning Aug. 1. She will guide the agency's transition into the nonprofit, semi-private JobsOhio corporation.