6 plead innocent to drug charges

Three more were arrested this week as part of a drug probe.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- Five juveniles and an adult have pleaded innocent to charges that resulted from an investigation into illegal drugs at Fitch High School.
Each of the defendants was arraigned on drug charges in Mahoning County Juvenile Court earlier this week. The adult will be tried in juvenile court because he was 17 years old when he allegedly committed a crime.
Three of the juveniles indicted are Fitch students. Those students, and the charges they face, include: Matthew Caroline, 17, of 1122 Ohltown Rd., two counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs; Andrew Butz, 16, 260 S. Inglewood Ave., three counts of drug trafficking; and Danny Bounds Jr., 17, 6631 Abbot Ave., complicity to traffic in counterfeit substances.
Caroline, Butz, and Bounds were arrested April 27 at Fitch. The charges stem from alleged trafficking in the "party drug" Ecstasy.
Also arrested April 27 was Robert Swope, 18, of 1753 S. Raccoon Rd. He was charged with drug trafficking. Swope had been previously expelled from Fitch.
Also arraigned this week were Stuart Sanor, 17, 17325 E. Fifth St., Beloit, and Joseph Vogt, 17, 2219 Birch Trace Dr. Sanor was charged with complicity to traffic in counterfeit substances, and Vogt is charged with two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a dangerous drug, drug possession, altering content of a controlled substance, and criminal trespass.
Sanor and Vogt were arrested Monday at the high school. Vogt allegedly had the prescription drugs Ritalin and Vioxx on him when he was arrested.
No trial dates have been set.
Other arrests: The investigation into drugs at Fitch also led to the arrest of two 18-year-old township residents and a 20-year-old township man this week. The 20-year-old was arrested Wednesday at his Innwood Drive home. He is charged with trafficking in marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school.
One of the 18-year-olds also was arrested Monday, and the other was arrested Tuesday at the high school. Both are Fitch students who were charged with trafficking in marijuana.