Bank robber sentenced to Veterans Court in Youngstown
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — An 83-year-old Austintown man accused of robbing a township bank pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge of robbery in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Read next: Los Gallos owner explains reasoning for Monday closure
In exchange for his plea, Forrest Lytell was placed into the county's Veterans Court by Judge Anthony D'Apolito. If Lytell completes the programs offered by the court, the charge against him will be dropped.
Judge D'Apolito told Lytell while he wants to help him, he also has to look at his actions and how they affected other people, especially the bank employees who were working the day the bank was robbed.
'You are very fortunate you have a prosecutor and a defense attorney who are willing to work with you,' Judge D'Apolito said.
Judge D'Apolito told Lytell he wanted to know why he was in such dire straits that he felt he needed to rob a bank and find a way to fix that issue.
'We have a lot of work to do,' the judge said.
Reports said police answered a holdup alarm about 10:20 a.m. Nov 20 at a 4949 Mahoning Ave. bank where a teller said a man later identified as Lytell gave her a note saying, 'Give me all the money or else.'
The teller complied and slipped in some bills that had a tracking device, reports said. Reports said Lytell took the money and left out the front door.
Police were able to track the money to an address in the double-digit block of South Anderson Avenue, near a wooded area. Police went there and an officer spotted Lytell near the wooded area, where he was taken into custody.
Lytell told police the money was in a shed in a nearby yard, reports said. Police looked there and found the money, reports said.
When asked if had anything to say, reports said Lytell replied, 'How did you guys find me so fast?'
At his arraignment a few days later in Mahoning County Area Court in Austintown, Lytell told the judge he has been retired since 2001 and has only Social Security to live on. He told the judge he needed help.
He was able to post $13,000 bond after he was arraigned and has been free ever since. He was indicted Jan. 9 by a grand jury.
Lytell served in the United States Army for two years from 1961-63 followed by four years of service in the United States Navy.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Car that led police, troopers on chase ends up in ‘chop shop': Report
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Police and state troopers found a little more than they bargained for Monday night after a chase led them to other suspicious vehicles. Just before 11 p.m. Monday, the Youngstown Police Department and Ohio State Highway Patrol had officers out on patrol in the area of Boston and South Avenue when reports state a black BMW sped past them. Authorities attempted a traffic stop, but the BMW sped off at around 80 mph on South Avenue before turning onto Midlothian Avenue. Officers called off the road pursuit due to the unsafe conditions, but the OSHP continued to follow the BMW with its aviation unit. Reports state aviation tracked the car speeding around 112 mph on Shirley Road to Wilson Avenue, to Federal Street, before it turned onto Andrews Avenue and pulled into a business garage in the 1100 block of Andrews. Reports state the BMW nearly hit another vehicle in the area of South and Hilton Avenue, ran red lights and passed other cars during its attempt to flee. Officers surrounded the business and called for all occupants to come out, where they detained two men. Aviation units relayed to officers that one of the men, Derrian Thomas, was the driver of the BMW, and the other man was the passenger. Police arrested Thomas on a charge of failure to comply. When speaking to the other man, reports state he told police that he was the owner of the business at 1104 Andrews Avenue. OSHP troopers on the scene were then informed of a 'chop shop' located near Andrews Avenue in connection with other investigations, according to reports. Police say the owner gave them permission to enter his business to retrieve the BMW involved in the chase. When they went into the building, reports state officers smelled an 'overwhelming' odor of marijuana and observed a 'large quantity' of marijuana inside the truck of a Dodge Charger. Police also observed marijuana in a Chevrolet Sonic, which reports state was registered to the man. Also inside the garage was a Jeep 'riddled with bullet holes,' in which police found two firearms, reports state. When questioned about the large amount of marijuana inside his shop, the owner reportedly told police that someone had dropped off both the Jeep and Dodge for body work, but claimed he could not provide their name and 'had essentially no idea who they were,' according to reports. He also claimed to know nothing about the firearms or who they belonged to. Due to the marijuana and firearms, police had the Jeep and Dodge towed, as well as the BMW involved in the chase. Reports state the Jeep and Dodge were both registered to one person; however, court records do not reflect any charges against that individual at this time. Thomas is set to appear in Youngstown Municipal Court on the fleeing charge Wednesday afternoon. Court records do not show any charges against the owner of the business at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Would Releasing the Martin Luther King Files Help Curb the Surveillance State?
The federal government is seeking to unseal long-classified FBI surveillance records on Martin Luther King Jr. nearly two years before their court-ordered release date (January 2027) and 56 years after his assassination. The King family and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which King founded, have objected to the early release, arguing the files contain illegally obtained wiretaps and personal information that should remain private. However, the compelling public interest could outweigh the family's understandable desire to shield King's memory from renewed smear campaigns. The FBI waged a psychological war against King through its COINTELPRO program, a counterintelligence operation targeting civil rights leaders suspected of communist ties. With backing from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and approval from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, agents illegally wiretapped King's home, offices, and hotel rooms. What started as a probe into alleged communist ties morphed into a protracted campaign to destroy King's reputation, utilizing fabricated stories, false documents, and anonymous threats. The recordings and accounts of King's private life, deemed likely illegal and unethical by the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1979, were sealed for 50 years by a federal court in 1977, following a lawsuit by King's associate and the SCLC. A January executive order issued by President Donald Trump directs the Justice Department to seek an early release of the records, although officials claim their focus is only on documents related to King's assassination. On June 4, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia agreed to review the files before determining what will be released. "It's not going to happen overnight," Leon said. "The court is going to move very carefully." King's youngest daughter, Bernice, and son, Martin Luther King III, have asked the court not to release the documents, arguing that it would infringe on the family's privacy. The Kings also cite the botched release of John F. Kennedy files that revealed Social Security numbers, and point to the FBI's attempts to blackmail and smear King as evidence that a premature, unvetted disclosure could be harmful. Matthew Guariglia, senior policy analyst at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, tells Reason that the issue of privacy can be easily rectified. "The FBI or whoever is releasing these files has an opportunity to both preserve the privacy of the surveillance target and also reveal any historically significant facts about FBI methodology just by redacting a lot of the intentionally embarrassing surveillance information," he said. Leon will be tasked with balancing the file's significance in American history against the privacy concerns of those who were illegally spied on. As Guariglia notes, the situation requires a nuanced approach: "Important historical documents should not be withheld and classified forever. That being said, I think motivation here is important." While the King family's concerns are valid, the primary issue remains that the government collected such material in the first place. The Kings' objections are "shortsighted," Patrick Eddington, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, tells Reason. "In an age where government surveillance and political repression has become all too commonplace, I think the release of these records showing the FBI's prurient surveillance of King and attempts to blackmail him into abandoning the civil rights cause would be a powerful reminder to Americans about why the FBI's domestic surveillance activities need to be sharply curtailed." The FBI's surveillance of Americans continues to this day, largely with the approval of policymakers. Despite multiple instances of illegal FBI surveillance, including monitoring protesters after the 2020 George Floyd riots and the January 6 Capitol riot, Congress extended Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in 2024. This post-9/11 authority allows warrantless surveillance of foreigners abroad and the "incidental" collection of Americans' data. While the explicit targeting of Americans is prohibited, the 2024 renewal endorses nearly all warrantless searches of Section 702 data, inevitably capturing Americans' private conversations in the process. Unsealing the FBI's surveillance records on Dr. King would not violate his legacy—it would reaffirm the values he died fighting for: truth, accountability, and freedom from state repression. The release would be especially worthwhile if it leads to meaningful curbs on federal surveillance powers. The post Would Releasing the Martin Luther King Files Help Curb the Surveillance State? appeared first on
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Changes coming to law enforcement training in Ohio
(WKBN) — Ohio will soon usher in what Attorney General Dave Yost calls 'the most comprehensive overhaul of law enforcement training in decades.' Beginning in July, training academies will start teaching an updated curriculum that prioritizes modern-day policing issues. 'We're giving Ohio's peace officers what they need to do their job — real-world tools and the training to handle the toughest calls,' said Yost, whose office encompasses the standards-setting Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC). 'This isn't just reform — it's a significant investment in the future of policing in Ohio.' Effective July 1, academies will introduce the updated curriculum that is mandatory by Jan. 1, 2026. The changes reflect the task force's vision for a modernized, skills-based officer training program, according to Yost. Incoming cadets to any Peace Officer Basic Training academy will now see 72 hours of outdated curriculum replaced with practical, high-stakes training tailored to today's law enforcement environment, including new courses on active shooters and threat response, critical decision-making, crisis mitigation and de-escalation, communications and mediation, and incident debriefs. Courses removed or reclassified (72 hours total): Blue Courage (16 hours): Post-graduation offering First Aid, CPR, AED (8 hours): Online prerequisite ICS/NIMS (8 hours): Online prerequisite NHTSA Speed Measuring Device (40 hours): Post-graduation elective New training topics (72 hours total): Basic & Interpersonal Communications & Mediation: 44 hours Incident Debrief Training: 4 hours Active Shooter/Threat Response + Duty to Render Aid: 8 hours ICAT (Critical Decision-Making, Tactical Breathing, Crisis Mitigation, De-escalation): 16 hours On a related matter, the task force — recognizing the urgent need to support law enforcement recruitment — introduced a modified graduation fitness standard that was implemented after OPOTC approved it in May of 2024. Although entry-level standards remain unchanged, cadets are eligible to graduate if they pass two of the three fitness test components (sit-ups, push-ups, 1.5-mile run), as long as they meet at least 75% of expected progress in the third component. In the year since this change, 91 additional cadets have graduated — officers who would have been disqualified under the previous standard — strengthening Ohio's law enforcement presence at a critical time. 'Updating Ohio's standards ensures we align with today's job demands—allowing us to strengthen the force, better reflect our communities, and increase the number of qualified officers on the streets without compromising integrity or readiness,' Yost said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
