YOUNGSTOWN 5th loud-music citation on last day of freedom

The young man reported to jail today as ordered by a municipal judge.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Knowing he had to do 30 days in jail -- beginning today -- for a fourth loud music conviction didn't stop Nimala I. Alamin from cranking up his car stereo Sunday afternoon.
Patrolmen Daniel Tickerhoof and Frank Bigowsky heard the loud music on Market Street about 3:40 p.m. Sunday and pulled Alamin over near Florida Avenue. The stop represents Alamin's fifth loud music citation in 31/2 years.
The officers issued a ticket that requires Alamin, 23, of Roxbury Avenue to be in Youngstown Municipal Court at 5:30 p.m. May 13.
The jail said it will transport Alamin to his court appearance.
Alamin received his jail sentence in municipal court last Wednesday when he pleaded no contest to loud music, his fourth.
Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly sentenced Alamin to 30 days in jail, fined him $1,000 and placed him on reporting probation for one year.
Alamin also pleaded no contest to driving with a suspended license and providing false information to avoid a citation. The charges are from a stop police made Sept. 30, 2001.
Judge Kobly also ordered that Alamin forfeit his stereo equipment today before going to jail. Alamin did not comply with this order, according to the judge's office.
Alamin was ordered by the judge to report to jail by 9 a.m. today. Maj. Michael Budd at the sheriff's department said Alamin reported on time.
Convictions
Aside from four loud music convictions, Alamin's municipal court records show he's been convicted of drug abuse four times and three times for driving with a suspended license.
A second loud music conviction means up to six months in jail, mandatory $500 fine and makes a vehicle's sound equipment subject to forfeiture.
Third and subsequent convictions mean up to 60 days in jail, mandatory $600 fine and mandatory forfeiture of the sound equipment.
The city's loud music ordinance was revamped in February 2001, adding a provision that the sound be clearly heard at a distance of 50 feet or more. The revised ordinance also eliminated the mandatory three days in jail for a third offense.
Judge Kobly had concluded that language in the old ordinance that applied to motor vehicles -- "volume which is plainly audible to persons other than the occupants of said vehicle" -- had to go. The wording didn't make it clear what is prohibited and could apply to sounds that come from wailing police sirens, for example, she said.
History of case
In December 1998, Alamin's first loud music conviction resulted in a $200 fine imposed by municipal Judge Robert P. Milich.
Alamin was convicted in May 1999 of drug abuse, loud music and driving without a valid license. Municipal Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. gave him 180 days in jail, suspended all but 10 days, and placed him on one-year probation, court records show.
Jail records show that Alamin did not serve the 10 days in May 1999. He did serve eight days in June 1999 when a county judge also found him guilty of driving without a valid license.
Alamin was back in Judge Douglas' court in January 2000, again for driving without a valid license. The judge gave him 180 days in jail and suspended all but 10, which Alamin served.
The judge also placed Alamin on another one-year probation, which overlapped the probation he received in May 1999.
Alamin was back in municipal court July 11, 2000, cited for his third loud music in a motor vehicle. The assistant prosecutor reduced the charge and Judge Milich issued a $400 fine, no jail.
meade@vindy.com