MAHONING COUNTY Disturbance at courthouse brings 30 days for defendant

The mother said she hit her son with her purse in an attempt to calm him down.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Even if jurors in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court decide he's innocent, Darnell Wright is going to jail when his trial ends.
Wright, 23, of South Forrest Avenue, is on trial on charges of trafficking in cocaine and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Testimony was expected to conclude today.
An angry outburst outside the courtroom, which carried over to the steps outside the courthouse, landed Wright a 30-day sentence in county jail. Judge Maureen A. Cronin ruled he was in contempt of court for creating the disturbance.
Disturbance: Authorities said Wright became agitated and began talking loud in the hall outside the courtroom during a break from the trial. His attorney, Robert Melnick, tried to calm him, but Wright continued to shout.
Deputies then took him outside to keep jurors from hearing him, but Wright continued shouting and cursing.
His mother, Doris Wright, followed him outside, where she hit him several times with her purse and hands. She said later that she was trying to get his attention and force him to calm down.
When deputies interceded and stopped his mother from hitting him, Wright became even angrier and had to be restrained. Deputies finally calmed him, handcuffed him and returned him to the courtroom where the trial resumed.
Testimony was expected to conclude today.
Mother's duty: Doris Wright was called before Judge Cronin to answer for her role in the outburst. The judge said she appreciated that she was trying to help calm her son, but the way she did it was inappropriate.
"We can't allow that kind of behavior, either inside or outside a court of law," Judge Cronin said. "Otherwise we would have fights here all the time, and we won't have that."
Doris Wright said she believed she was doing the right thing at the time.
"If you would have been there you would have understood," she told the judge.
Darnell Wright is accused of selling drugs with the Ayers Street Playas, an East Side gang believed to be responsible for drug trafficking in their neighborhood.
Also on trial is Tony E. Davis, 19, of Byron Street, who faces the same charges.
bjackson@vindy.com