2 charged with drug offenses

BOARDMAN -- Police arrested two men, charging them with drug offenses after a traffic stop.
Police saw a car traveling east on Midlothian Boulevard near Hillman Way without its rear license plate illuminated Saturday evening. The registered owner, later identified as Philip J. Howells, 47, Hermosa Drive, Youngstown, had two active warrants from Youngstown police for trafficking in crack cocaine.
Police stopped the car, finding that the front seat passenger, Frank L. Simone, 44, Rapp Road, New Middletown, also had a warrant from the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office for failure to appear.
After confirming the warrants for both men, police searched them and found two sandwich bags containing suspected crack cocaine in the front waistband of Howell's pants.
They found a sandwich bag that contained a small amount of suspected crack cocaine and a glass pipe in the front of Simone's waistband.
Howells was charged with possession of crack, a felony, and Simone was charged with possession of drugs, a felony, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.