MAHONING COURT Concealed-weapon convict faces new charges
The teen had nine rounds of ammunition in his pocket, police said.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- In May, Marquis L. Bebbs will celebrate his 19th birthday, be sentenced for carrying a concealed weapon, and face a new gun and menacing charge.
Bebbs, who turns 19 Monday, had been out on $5,000 bond on the CCW case pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He pleaded guilty March 25, and Judge Maureen A. Cronin will sentence him May 14.
Bebbs' Boardman lawyer, Louis M. DeFabio, said Thursday that the sentencing range is six to 18 months. He said the gun charge is related to a fight his client had with his girlfriend.
DeFabio said he wasn't aware of Bebbs' new charges but added that they won't make Judge Cronin happy. Bebbs' bond has been conditional on his remaining crime-free, the lawyer said.
At arraignment this week in municipal court, Bebbs pleaded innocent to a charge of illegally having a weapon (felons are not allowed to have weapons) and two counts of aggravated menacing. He is accused of threatening his girlfriend and another woman with a gun at a house on Broadview Avenue.
Due back in court
Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. set bond at $35,000. Bebbs, who remains in Mahoning County jail unable to post bond, is due back in municipal court May 10 for a preliminary hearing.
When Patrolmen Greg Miller and Brian Flynn arrived at the Broadview house around 5 p.m. Monday, a woman ran out saying, "He's inside." Once Bebbs saw the officers, he went into a hallway and his girlfriend yelled that he had a gun, the officers said in their report.
Police said a loaded .25-caliber handgun was found inside the hallway linen closet, where Bebbs had been standing. They said they found nine .25-caliber rounds in his front pants pocket.
The officers said in their report that they'd dealt with Bebbs before and were aware of his "violent behavior." Bebbs admitted to the officers that he had the gun but said he was giving it back to his girlfriend.
The two women told police that Bebbs threatened to shoot them and then shoot himself. He was mad for what his girlfriend was putting him through and wanted to put her through the same pain, the officers were told.
DeFabio said Bebbs had a troubled childhood and had a juvenile record, which landed him in foster homes.
"He's very personable. You wouldn't think he had a temper. He's very polite," DeFabio said. "I'm surprised he's been charged again."
meade@vindy.com