YOUNGSTOWN Parolee sent to jail over loud car music

There's no plan for seizure and disposal of forfeited stereo equipment.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Ashanti Bunch, convicted of loud music for the third time, will spend five weekends in the Mahoning County jail, and his parole officer set an 8 p.m. curfew for the days he's home.
Bunch, 28, of Idlewood Avenue, was ordered by Municipal Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. to report to the jail at 6 p.m. Friday and stay until 6 p.m. Sunday. Bunch is required to do that each weekend through Sept. 21.
The jail said Friday that Bunch reported, but a spokeswoman was unsure of the exact time.
Judge Douglas also ordered Bunch to pay a $600 fine by Sept. 22 and, if he doesn't, to spend five more weekends in jail.
The judge also ordered that Bunch forfeit his car's sound equipment, which police reports describe as a Pioneer in-dash CD player with amplification system in the trunk.
City Prosecutor Dionne M. Almasy had recommended that Bunch spend 30 days in jail for his third loud-music conviction, but Judge Douglas opted for 10, with 10 more if the fine is not paid. The sentencing took place Wednesday.
Bunch made news in March 2001 as one of the leaders of the Ayers Street Playas, a gang that ruled by intimidation on the East Side. He was convicted of drug trafficking and criminal gang activity and served one year in prison -- from Feb. 20, 2002, to March 1, 2003.
When released in March, Bunch was placed on three years' parole.
His parole officer, aware of the loud music conviction, imposed an 8 p.m. curfew for the next 30 days, JoEllen Culp, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction spokesman in Columbus, said Friday.
Where equipment goes
The Vindicator asked Laura McLaughlin, municipal court administrator, Friday about the procedure for collecting and disposing forfeited stereo equipment.
A judge can order forfeiture of sound equipment for a first or second loud music conviction. Forfeiture is mandatory for a third conviction.
McLaughlin said the topic has been discussed at judges' meetings. She said city council didn't address the forfeiture procedure in the loud-music ordinance.
The courts, she said, lack direction from the legislative body and, in the meantime, Dan Panigall, head of the probation department, has taken the few stereos that have been turned in and placed them in a storage room in city hall.
Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr. said Friday that it is not up to city council to determine when, how and who should confiscate the sound equipment.
"The court has to determine who should physically accept the sound equipment," Bush said. "That's a function of the court -- it's a court sanction."
Bush said it's also up to the judges to say what happens to the sound equipment after it's seized. City council, he said, can say to confiscate the equipment but can't tell the police department to hold an auction -- that's up to the courts to authorize.
meade@vindy.com