YOUNGSTOWN Man out on bond faces new charge

Moses' bond could be revoked or modified because of the new charge.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A loose dog has put Rodney J. Moses' freedom in jeopardy.
A Mahoning County grand jury indicted Moses and 13 other Ayers Street Playas last month, charging them with engaging in criminal gang activity and trafficking in crack. Police said the gang controlled all drug activity in an area known as La La Land on the city's East Side.
Police arrested Moses on March 5 and he posted $50,000 bond that day. All but five of the Playas bonded out of jail.
Moses, 26, of Erie Street now faces a vicious dog charge in Youngstown Municipal Court, which could trigger a bond revocation hearing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Moses appeared Wednesday in municipal court for arraignment.
Changed plea: He entered a no-contest plea and then changed his mind and pleaded innocent. Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly explained that he faces up to 30 days in jail and $250 fine if convicted.
When asked how he supports himself, Moses told the judge that he works "little odd jobs." He declined the judge's offer of a court-appointed lawyer, saying "I'll get my own."
The court assignment office set trial for April 24.
Afterward, Dionne M. Almasy, city prosecutor, said she would notify the county prosecutor's office that Moses has a case pending in municipal court.
A motion can be filed to revoke or modify Moses' $50,000 bond, Almasy said. The bond hearing would take place before Judge Maureen A. Cronin, who has the Ayers Street Playas trial scheduled for May 9.
Robert E. Duffrin, the assistant county prosecutor assigned to the common pleas court case, said he will review Moses' arrest report and the police report that led to the charge.
Duffrin said he may wait to see if Moses is convicted in municipal court before pursuing a bond revocation.
What happened: Moses' Rottweiler bit 64-year-old Stanley H. Lutz and his dog Tuesday evening as they walked on Irma Street on the city's South Side, police said. Lutz, of Pointview Avenue, was treated at St. Elizabeth Health Center for bites to his right hand and forearm.
Lutz told police that when the Rottweiler approached and attacked, he managed to fend off the dog with a shovel. Within minutes, police and Moses arrived.
Moses took the Rottweiler to 1937 Pointview and told police that the dog had somehow broke loose from inside the house. Moses had no paperwork to show that the Rottweiler had been registered or vaccinated.