Police Blotter: Arsonist Hits Park, More Electronics Thefts

The following arrest information was provided by the Kent Police Department. It does not indicate conviction.

Arsonist strikes Kent park An arsonist set fire to a wooden bench and trail kiosk near Edgewater Circle July 31. The Kent Parks and Recreation Department reported the fire, which damaged a wooden bench about 4 feet long and a wooden kiosk about 10 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The damage was estimated at a total of $600. It's not the first piece of park property to fall victim to vandals. Earlier this summer, Vandals Cut Down Trees at Plum Creek Park. Thieves hot for electronics Electronic devices continue to be a popular target for thieves in Kent. On July 31, someone stole a Dell Inspiron laptop, valued at $800, from an address in the 100 block of Sherman Street. A miniature Amana refrigerator was stolen from an address in the 5600 block of…

Police Blotter: Man Arrested for Car Theft, Wrong Way One-Way Driver

The following arrest information was provided by the Kent Police Department. It does not indicate conviction.

Stolen  auto An Akron man was arrested Sunday night on charges he stole a car from a West Elm Street address the day before. Justin E. Bell, 18, was charged with receiving stolen property, a fifth-degree felony, related to the car theft charge and a second receiving stolen property charge, a first-degree misdemeanor, involving a cellphone. A car was reported stolen Saturday from West Elm Street, and Kent police arrested Bell at 10:30 p.m. Sunday at 626 Franklin Ave. and recovered the car. Wrong way driver An Akron man was charged Sunday with driving drunk and driving the wrong way on a one-way street in Kent. Marico D. Binford, 22, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a first-degree misdemeanor, and driving the wrong way…

Police Blotter: I-Beam Theft, Arson and Electronics Thieves

The following arrest information was provided by the Kent Police Department. It does not indicate conviction.

I-Beam Theft Several heavy, steel I-Beams were reported stolen from a Kent business last week. Pyramid Mold and Machine Co., at 222 Martinel Drive, reported the theft of several of the steel beams July 8. The metal was valued at $300. Electronics Thieves Electronics thieves struck twice in one day earlier this month. Two cellphones were reported stolen in the 1100 block of South Water Street July 5. A black Droid cell phone with a purple case and a Droid X phone, valued at $250 and $350 individually, were reported stolen. Also July 5, a black LG Cosmos cellphone was reported stolen in the 100 block of South River Street along with a Garmin Nuvi GPS and a silver iPod Shuffle with the phrase "The Answer is Within You, So Smile" engraved on …

Police Blotter: Drunk Driving Through Construction and Ice Cream Fraud

The following arrest information was provided by the Kent Police Department. It does not indicate conviction.

Ice cream fraud The managers of Katie's Korner Ice Cream at 1412 S. Water St. reported fraud to the Kent Police Department June 28. The ice cream shop was defrauded for $98.25. Mail tampering Silver Meadows Apartments reported vandalism June 14 at 922 Lawrence Court, where someone smashed a bank of 12 apartment mailboxes. The damage was estimated at $1,000. Driving through construction A Kent woman was arrested and charged with driving through a closed portion of the road way at the intersection of Crain Avenue and Lake Street at 1:34 a.m. June 20. Sharon Z. Crayton, 49, of 1017 N. Mantua St., was stopped and charged for refusing to take a blood-alcohol test, a first-degree misdemeanor, and driving through a closed road, a minor …

Police Blotter: Pizza Sign Theft, More Damage to Police Station

The following arrest information was provided by the Kent Police Department. It does not indicate conviction

$1,200 in electronics stolen About $1,200 in electronics were stolen June 5 from a residence in the 400 block of East College Avenue. A resident told police someone broke in and stole a 20-inch True Touch TV with built-in DVD player, an Apple iPod and a Macbook Pro laptop with charger. Kent jail damaged — again Kent police reported damage to the police station's holding cell and a TV remote June 5. A corner edge of the shower in the jail bull pen was damaged. Police charged William R. Sekerak, Jr., 19, of Cortland, OH, with vandalism, a fifth-degree felony. The jail was damaged March 20, causing an estimated $400 damage. The holding cell was also damaged March 18, causing an estimated $400 damage. Collector's edition material stolen …

Police Blotter: Kittens Abandoned, Damage at the High School and More

All information is according to Kent police reports

Kittens abandoned Six kittens were found near 716 Longcoy Ave. May 13. The kittens were found in a box in a parking lot in front of an apartment building. Kent's animal officer could not locate an owner, so the animals were taken to the Portage Animal Protective League. The kittens, too young to eat on their own, must be hand-fed by volunteers at the PAPL to survive. Drunk tank damaged A suspect in the police department's holding cell damaged the bullpen shower curtain and shower stall May 20. Police estimated the damage to be $400. The holding cell was damaged earlier this year. Unlucky lottery player About $200 worth of winning lottery tickets were reported stolen May 20 in the 200 block of West Elm Street. In addition to the tickets, …

•  1 Comment

Police Blotter: Breaking and Entering, Menacing and Theft Reports

All information is according to Kent police reports

Aggravated Menacing Kent police charged 23-year-old Highland Heights native Nicholas A. Valentino with aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor, just before 4 a.m. Sunday. Valentino was arrested on University Drive, not far from where festivities were taking place to mark the end of the school year at Kent State University on Sherman Street. Police reported no arrests related to the Sherman Street events Saturday night. Construction tools stolen About $650 in construction tools were reported stolen Sunday in the 400 block of Park Avenue. About 200 feet of 1/4-inch rubber air hose, a Bostich nail gun and a Campbell Hausfeld 20-gallon air compressor were reported stolen. Door smashed The front door to a home in the 1400 block of South…

Police Blotter: Jail Damaged; Child Abuse and Theft

All information is according to Kent police reports

Kent jail damaged A Kent man is facing vandalism charges after he damaged the city's jail following his arrest Friday. Jack J. Metcalf, 22, was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge March 18 shortly before 3 a.m. and held in the city's jail at the Kent police department. Metcalf damaged the shower stall in the jail after "he had to be told not to urinate in it," according to a police report. The department estimated the damage to the shower stall and curtain at $400. Women charged with child abuse Two Kent women were charged with multiple counts of endangering children during the weekend. Nicole M. Hersman, 32, of 1287 Anita Court, was charged with domestic violence after reportedly assaulting one of her children March 19. Kent police …

•  1 Comment

Police Blotter: 18 Arrested on St. Patrick's Day

Holiday relatively calm with exception of underage drinking, disorderly conduct arrests

Eighteen people were arrested — mostly on drunken disorderly charges — during the St. Patrick's Day holiday celebrations in Kent Thursday. Kent Police Chief Michelle Lee described the holiday as relatively quiet. "Quiet for a St. Patrick's Day, for a Thursday," she said. "We had our share of arrests. But overall the population, the student population, the partying population, behaved themselves." Lee said the department's officers didn't encounter any major issues but did have to sort out a few fights. "But that's to be expected," Lee said. "So overall it was fairly quiet." The names of all those arrested were not available this afternoon. Some of those arrested, according to Kent police reports, included:

• Photos (1)

Police Blotter: Car Full of Teens Arrested; Vandalism and an Abandoned Dog

Information is based on Kent police reports

Car full of teens arrested Kent police arrested a car full of teens from the Massillon and Canton area shortly after 3 a.m. March 5 near the intersection of Haymaker Parkway and South DePeyster Street. Police pulled over Charles R. Isles, III, 19, of Massillon, for a headlight violation, a minor misdemeanor. But Isles was charged with drunk driving, a first-degree misdemeanor, and underage drinking, also a first-degree misdemeanor. Isles' three passengers also were charged with underage drinking. Griffin M. Erlitz, 20, of Canton; Mitchell J. Macri, 19, of Massillon; and Trae J. Gaines, 19, of Massillon, were all charged with underage drinking. Gaines also was charged with possession of marijuana, a minor misdemeanor. Dog abandoned Kent …

• Photos (1)