Saturday, November 16, 2002
The people in the car being followed did not agree with the version told by the two suspects.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- A road rage episode late Wednesday has landed a Youngstown man and an Austintown man in court.
Robert D. Boak, 24, pleaded innocent Friday to driving under the influence, and Christopher Steenge, 22, pleaded innocent to disorderly conduct. Trial is set for August for both.
According to police reports, the two men were traveling from a Boardman Township movie theater in a car driven by Boak. The men started chasing another car from Boardman to Poland Village, occasionally ramming it from behind, reports say.
The driver of the car being chased used a cell phone to call police. Police caught up to Boak's car and pulled it over on U.S. Route 224 and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Reports say Boak told police the people in the car he was chasing had stolen his wallet but later changed that story to say they were his friends and they were all just playing around.
Another side
Reports say the two passengers from the car being chased came back to the area of the traffic stop and told officers they did not know either Boak or Steenge.
They said Boak tried to pass them on a narrow road but struck an unknown object along the curb. Reports say that is when Boak began following the car at a close distance and ramming it.
Police also found a small bag of what appeared to be marijuana in the car driven by Boak.
Boak and Steenge were arrested and taken to the village police station, where Boak fell asleep while police were reciting to him standard passages from police forms. Police photos show he curled up on the station floor and slept with his citation only a few feet away.
A third party came to the police station to take Boak and Steenge home. Reports say other police departments may file additional charges against them.