City drops felony charges in 1990 drive-by shooting

YOUNGSTOWN -- The city has dropped decade-old charges of felony assault and victim intimidation against a 43-year-old South Side man after investigators failed to find a victim or witness in the case.
Paul W. Lacey of Lakewood Avenue was arrested on the charges earlier this month on warrants stemming from the Aug. 20, 1990, drive-by shooting of Kim McKelly near Oak Hill Avenue and Essex Street on the city's South Side. He was also accused of threatening to kill another man that day.
A preliminary hearing on the charges had been scheduled for Friday, but Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly dismissed the charges instead. Youngstown Police Detective Sgt. Gerald Maietta and defense attorney Doug Taylor said the case was dropped because the victim of the shooting and a witness could not be located.
Lacey is serving a six-month sentence on a contempt of court charge after he swore at Judge Kobly during his arraignment on the charges.
Upon his arrest, Lacey, a convicted sex offender, was also charged with failing to register as a sex offender when police discovered he did not register in Mahoning County when he moved back to the area from California late last year.