YOUNGSTOWN His cane was bane; now he's convicted
The defendant used the cane because of a gunshot injury to his buttocks.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Dwayne Pixley said he knew something was different about the cane his wife bought for him at a flea market last spring but said he never suspected it could be deadly.
When he tried to take the cane into the Mahoning County Courthouse, deputies found an 18-inch sword hidden inside the shaft. They kept the cane, and Pixley, 35, of South Hartford Avenue, was arrested.
After a short trial Tuesday in common pleas court, Pixley was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and illegally taking a weapon into a courthouse. Judge R. Scott Krichbaum will sentence him at 10 a.m. March 29.
Potential sentence
Assistant prosecutor Patrick R. Pochiro said Pixley faces six to 12 months in a state penitentiary for taking a weapon into courthouse, a fifth-degree felony. The concealed weapon charge is a first-degree misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of six months in the county jail.
Under Ohio law, Pixley also could be placed on probation for both charges, Pochiro said. Pixley was allowed to remain free on a signature bond in the meantime.
Deputy James Duval testified that he was guarding the main courthouse entrance when Pixley and his family came through April 24, 2003. Duval had Pixley place the cane on a conveyor belt to be scanned, as is customarily done.
That's when Duval noticed what appeared to be a blade concealed in the shaft of the cane. He notified his supervisor, who told him to arrest Pixley.
Cane left behind
Duval said Pixley walked away and left the cane behind without question, going with his family to the victim assistance office. He was arrested when he tried to leave the building, Duval said.
Pixley and his wife, Jennifer, said they left the cane behind only after Duval told them he was keeping it. Neither asked why it was being kept.
Pixley said his wife bought the cane for him the day before at a flea market on McCartney Road. He needed it to help him walk because he was recovering from being shot in the buttocks in a drive-by shooting about a week earlier, he said.
The shaft of the cane is a hollow black metal tube. The handle is a brass eagle's head that screws onto the top of the shaft. The sword blade is attached to the handle.
Defense attorney Michael Gollings said there was no proof that Pixley knew there was a sword inside the cane, so he didn't knowingly take a weapon into the courthouse.
Checked out flea market
Cpl. Cortland Casey of the sheriff's department said he went to the flea market to verify Pixley's story of getting it there. He said the vendor had several canes displayed on the table with the shafts and handles displayed separately. Some of the handles had blades on them, he said.
But Pixley said the canes were all in one piece when he got his, and said he had no idea there was a blade inside.
"I don't think Cpl. Casey went out there," Pixley said in his testimony. "I just don't believe him."
Pochiro pointed out that when the cane is tapped on the ground during use, the blade can be heard clanking inside the shaft. That, he said, should also have indicated to Pixley that there was something inside.
"Anyone who purchased a new cane for $25 certainly should be curious enough to find out what was causing it," the judge said in finding Pixley guilty.
bjackson@vindy.com