A man is in custody after allegedly robbing the Dollar General on Leona Street in Elyria with a knife and then fleeing the scene.

Curtis Chapman

Elyria police Lt. Andy Eichenlaub said the suspected robber, Curtis Chapman, 53, struggled with a clerk during the robbery, but the clerk wasn’t stabbed. An individual with cuts to their face could be seen inside the store talking to police officers after an ambulance left the scene and Eichenlaub said the clerk may have been punched during the scuffle.

Chapman, he said, took money from the store and fled in a white Cadillac.

The man was detained by Lorain and Elyria police and Lorain County sheriff’s deputies after he crashed the Cadillac at East 36th and Lowell streets at the border of the city of Lorain and Sheffield Township.

The Cadillac ended up in a snowbank when the driver failed to negotiate a turn from East 36th Street on Lowell, said homeowner Mike Smith who  saw the crash.

Smith said the man got out of the car and ran toward his home. Smith said he locked his door and then held it shut as the man banged on it and tried to get in. Police grabbed the man and wrestled him to the ground.

Eichenlaub said Chapman is still being processed and more information would be released later.

Check back at Chroniclet.com for more on this story as it becomes available.

LORAIN — Two men arrested today for a string of arsons on their Central Lorain street set the fires for the entertainment value, according to the lead detective on the case.

Romero

Agosto

Michael A. Agosto, 27, and Joseph Romero, 22, were arrested today by the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force on warrants for four counts of arson and four counts of breaking and entering. They both live at 830 North Central Drive, according to Lorain police.

The warrants were issued through Lorain Municipal Court as a result of an investigation conducted by Sgt. Mark McCoy of the Lorain Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, according to a news release from Lorain police.

Police believe the pair were responsible for at least six arsons in the North Central Drive area of Central Lorain in December 2009 and January 2010.

The investigation is ongoing and may result in additional charges being filed, according to police.

Read Thursday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

View Central Lorain arsons in a larger map

LORAIN — The Lorain County Ironmen will play ball this summer at Lorain’s Pipe Yard.

The newest addition to the Prospect League was announced at press conference this afternoon at Lorain City Hall.

Area residents voted by mail and e-mail, selecting Lorain County Ironmen over a host of other choices, including the Lorain Internationals, the Black River Barons, the Lorain County Steelmen, the Lake Erie Anglers and the Black River Raiders.

The Ironmen have not released their logo but said their Web site, which is not yet online, will be www.lcironmen.com. Their schedule has not been released either, but will go from the first week of June through the last week of August and consist of 28 home games and 28 away games.

Jerry Brove, who voted for the name Lorain County Ironmen, was the randomly selected winner of two season tickets to watch the Ironmen play.

Ticket prices for Ironmen games will be $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for children 12 and under. For a limited time, season tickets are available for $99.

According to the Prospect League Web site, the league is one of ten summer collegiate baseball leagues affiliated with the National Association of Summer Collegiate Baseball.

A news release on the site dated Dec. 3, announces three other expansion teams, which took the league from 11 to 14 members.

Other Prospect League teams include the DeKalb County (Ill.) Liners, DuPage (Ill.) Dragons, Hannibal (Mo.) Cavemen, Quincy (Ill.) Gems, Springfield (Ill.) Sliders, Danville (Ill.) Dans, Dubois County (Ind.) Bombers, Nashville Outlaws, Richmond (Ind.) RiverRats, Terre Haute (Ind.) Rex, Butler (Pa.) BlueSox, Chillicothe (Ohio) Paints, Slippery Rock (Pa.) Sliders and the West Virginia Miners.

Read Saturday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

Photos by Chronicle Photo Chief Bruce Bishop.

The smoke stack at the former Lorain High School site came down this morning.

Demolition, by Demex, the company hired by the district, started about 9 a.m., and the smokestack finally came down about 12:20 p.m., according to CT Photo Chief Bruce Bishop who was among a crowd of people who gathered to watch.

Check back at Chroniclet.com for more as it becomes available.