Loud music means jail for repeat offender

The convicted man has to report to jail by 9 a.m. Monday.
YOUNGSTOWN -- To Nimala I. Alamin, Municipal Judge Elizabeth A. Kobly -- who jails him when she sees him -- probably sounds like a broken record.
"People don't want to hear your music, sir," the judge said Monday. "I don't want to hear your music. You don't want to hear mine, either. It's a matter of common decency."
After calling Alamin a "stone head" for not getting the message, the judge sentenced the 23-year-old Roxbury Avenue man to 40 days in jail on his fifth loud-music conviction. Alamin had pleaded no contest to the charge. She fined him $1,000 and told him to pay it by Valentine's Day.
Alamin's lawyer, Samuel G. Amendolara, asked that his client be given time to get his affairs in order, since Monday had been scheduled as a final pretrial, not a hearing to enter a plea. The judge granted the request, telling Alamin to report to the county jail by 9 a.m. next Monday.
Judge Kobly told Alamin to forfeit his car stereo equipment. He said it's his grandfather's car. She didn't care.
Frustrated judge
The judge expressed frustration with Alamin, wondering what it will take to make him understand that he cannot play his music loud. She said if he keeps doing it, she'll keep putting him in jail.
Last May, Judge Kobly sentenced Alamin to 30 days in jail for his fourth loud-music conviction. That fine was $1,000, too.
Knowing he had to do those 30 days didn't stop Alamin from cranking up his car stereo the day before he had to report to the jail.
Patrolmen Daniel Tickerhoof and Frank Bigowsky heard the loud music on Market Street about 3:40 p.m. May 5 and pulled Alamin over near Florida Avenue. The stop represented Alamin's fifth loud-music citation in 31/2 years.
In May, Alamin also pleaded no contest to driving with a suspended license and providing false information to avoid a citation. He was found guilty. The charges were from a stop police made Sept. 30, 2001.
As Alamin left court, the judge told him, "Mr. Alamin, I hope I don't see you back here again."
meade@vindy.com