Angeline Fimognari 80, of Ohio Shot to Death in Church Parking Lot-Teen Arrested

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http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-arrestin80yearoldyoungstownmurder,0,567452.story

Arrest Made in Deadly Church Parking Lot Shooting

Staff Writer

10:14 AM EST, January 30, 2010

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- An arrest has been made in the shooting death of an 80-year-old Youngstown woman.

Youngstown police tell Fox 8 News, that The Mahoning County Task Force and its Swat Team surrounded a home on Volney Road in Youngstown just after 7 p.m. Friday.

According to investigators, the suspect, 18-year-old Jamar Houser, was not home at the time, but surrendered late Friday to police.

Houser is accused of shooting Angeline Fimognari in the head last Saturday, while she was in her car in the parking lot of St. Dominic Church in Youngstown. Police say Fimognari had just left the parish by herself.

Houser is charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated murder.

He is due in court later next week.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/30/AR2010013001182.html
Teen held in 80-year-old Ohio churchgoer's death


Saturday, January 30, 2010; 11:56 AM

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Police have arrested a man in the death of an 80-year-old Ohio woman who was shot in the head in her church parking lot after Mass.

Youngstown police Lt. Kevin Mercer says 18-year-old Jamar Houser was arrested Friday night on warrants charging him with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery.

Houser is being held Saturday without bond in the Mahoning County Justice Center. The jail doesn't list an attorney for him.

Angeline Fimognari (fim-eh-NAHR'-ee) was killed Jan. 23 in the parking lot of St. Dominic's Parish in Youngstown.

She was found slumped over in the driver's side of her car with her purse missing.

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http://www.wytv.com/content/news/local/story/Family-Reacts-to-Arrest-in-Fimognari-Murder-Case/j6iK982FcEKFsVYpZjMB1Q.cspx

Police arrest a man suspected to be involved in the murder of Angeline Fimognari Friday night. Saturday, the family spoke out about her death and the arrest.



18 year old Jamar "Mook" Houser is in jail and charged with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery six days after 80 year old Angeline Fimognari was murdered in the St. Dominic's Church parking lot. Houser is accused of shooting Fimognari in the head as she was walking out of church Saturday morning. Fimognari's family was told Friday evening that her alleged killer was in custody. "Closure and happiness for the whole family because we were really worried about them catching him," said Angeline's nephew, Albert Milano.

The community rallied around the family in the days leading up to Houser's arrest. Calls and tips flooded the Youngstown Police Department hoping to give any clue to find the shooter. "I got condolences all the way from Los Angeles to New York. I mean, so many people were really outraged and really cared. They knew what a special person she was," explained Milano.

The family is thankful that the Youngstown police are working around the clock trying to find those involved in the murder. Police stress though, that this is still a very active investigation , but the family hopes justice is served in the brutal murder of their family member and the case can be closed very soon. "It goes to show you what happens when the police force comes together and what they can do. I'm happy they got him and they I hope they punish him to fullest extent of the law. I hope they do it fast, and I hope they take care of the anyone else out there because I don't think it should happen again," said Milano.

Houser's arraignment is scheduled for Monday morning.

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http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/01/30/Teen-held-in-killing-outside-church/UPI-33081264886512/
Teen held in killing outside church
Published: Jan. 30, 2010 at 4:21 PM

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- An Ohio teenager has been arrested on suspicion of killing an elderly woman in a church parking lot as she was leaving morning mass, police said.

Jamar "Mook" Houser, 18, of Youngstown was taken into custody Friday evening, The Youngstown Vindicator reported. Youngstown police questioned him about the shooting of Angeline Fimognari, 80.

Fimognari's body was found last Saturday in the parking lot of St. Dominic Church with a bullet in her head and her purse gone. Investigators believe she was the victim of a robbery as she left the church shortly before 9 a.m.

Fimognari, who worked for the McDonald Steel Credit Union for 47 years, was known for attending mass twice every day at St. Dominic. She was a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Catholic charitable organization.

A mass honoring Fimognari was held at St. Dominic Wednesday and a funeral mass at St. Charles Borromeo in Boardman.

Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said this week there were no signs Fimognari tried to resist being robbed.

"It isn't a case where an elderly woman wouldn't give up her purse. This isn't an example of someone who refused to comply," he said.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/jan/28/family-friends-and-the-bishop-focused-on/?newswatch
Celebrating Angeline

(This article was published prior to the arrest of the suspect)

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A second elderly person has been shot to death and his wife wounded in the same parking lot 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5idqZH0AvWNn9beQ7DKz5LIMKjSzAD9IGF30G0?docId=D9IGF30G0
2nd deadly shooting has Ohio church mourning anew
September 27, 2010

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A church community haunted by the parking-lot shooting death of an 80-year-old member is mourning the killing of another elderly parishioner minutes after leaving church.

Someone fired up to a dozen shots at Thomas Repchic, 75, as he drove from church Saturday with his 74-year-old wife, who was wounded but expected to recover. The couple had just left St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church, where Jacqueline Repchic works in the office on Saturdays.

Police in Youngstown haven't mentioned a possible motive or identified a suspect in the ambush-style killing. Authorities had an alert out Monday for a suspected getaway car, an older red Dodge Durango.

Councilwoman Janet Tarpley, who represents the south Youngstown area where the shootings occurred, said the city is shaken by Saturday's killing, January's shooting outside St. Dominic and last week's strangling of a real estate agent showing a home in another neighborhood.

"The mood of the community is we're just outraged," said Tarpley, who arranged a neighborhood meeting Monday to discuss the crime situation.

Youngstown, with a population of about 73,000, shrunk by more than half in the last four decades amid job losses, especially in the once-dominant steel industry. Mayor Jay Williams has pushed a campaign to clear away vacant houses and buildings to open up space to make Youngstown greener, cleaner and safer.

The church is located in a working-class neighborhood of older homes, some fixed up but others boarded up and abandoned.

In January, a gunman killed Angeline Fimognari in the church parking lot after Mass. A 19-year-old has been charged in her death. Two men are charged in the real estate agent's death.

The Repchic attack occurred as he drove his Cadillac home in the early afternoon, and Tarpley wonders if the car was mistaken for someone else who was the intended victim. Six to 12 gunshots were fired.

The car crashed four blocks from the church, an area where many homes are derelict. Some commercial outlets up the street are boarded up.

Tarpley urged crime-weary residents to put aside fear and report anything suspicious to police, particularly attacks on the elderly, which she blamed on young thugs.

"I'm sure they're stronger, younger. They prey upon the elderly. We're angry," she said.

Williams has offered a $10,000 reward for information in the latest attack. He told The Vindicator newspaper that the shootings were sickening and disheartening.

Robert Shaw lives several blocks from the latest shooting scene, but didn't want to mention his address to avoid being targeted by criminals. He said the latest killings would spur urban flight.

"So much is going on, drug activity, immorality," said Shaw, 37. "Youngstown's going under."

Robert Edmonds, who lives four streets away from the latest shooting, blamed young thugs.

"These young boys between the age of 18 and 25 ... they want to be gangsters," he said.

Edmonds, 57, said his block is mostly safe, in part because neighbors watch out for each other.

Edmonds said the city should extend an anti-crime drive mounted during the summer to a year-round operation. "There should be zero tolerance," he said.