YOUNGSTOWN Judge sentences man for drug possession

YOUNGSTOWN -- A dozen of the Ayers Street Playas have gone to prison for their roles in the East Side gang.
Eric Carter, 22, of Shehy Street, was sentenced Wednesday to two years by Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Carter plead guilty in May to engaging in a pattern of criminal gang activity. As part of a deal with the prosecutor's office, a charge of trafficking in crack cocaine was dismissed.
Judge Cronin imposed a one-year sentence for a separate charge of possessing crack cocaine, for which Carter was indicted while his other case was pending. That sentence will be served at the same time as the two-year term, meaning he'll serve two years.
Before he was sentenced, Carter apologized to the judge and to the residents of the city for what he'd done. He said he's receiving treatment for drug addiction.
Carter was among 14 people indicted in March 2001 as members of the Ayers Street Playas. Police and prosecutors said the gang controlled drug activity in an East Side neighborhood known as La La Land.
All but two of the gang members have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. The two remaining suspects are still awaiting trial, said Assistant Prosecutor Robert Duffrin.
bjackson@vindy.com