Deputy faces discipline for inmate's release

YOUNGSTOWN -- A Mahoning County deputy who says he inadvertently released an inmate faces disciplinary action.
The release took place Thursday afternoon after Jason C. Medovich, 31, of North Bentley Avenue, Niles, posted $3,500 bond on charges of drug abuse instruments, hit and run on private property and driving under suspension, said Maj. Michael Budd of the sheriff's department.
Medovich, though free to go on those charges, had a hold on him from Niles, where he faces a robbery charge, Budd said.
Mistake realized
Deputy Todd Mariani released several inmates Thursday afternoon, including Medovich, Budd said. The deputy soon realized the mistake and ran out of the jail to look for Medovich.
Medovich, it turned out, had boarded a Western Reserve Transit Authority bus.
Deputies followed the bus as it traveled U.S. Route 422 toward Niles. "We found him in his back yard," Budd said. "He was taken to the Niles Police Department and then to the Trumbull County jail."
Budd said Mariani is facing disciplinary action for violations of jail rules and regulations regarding release policy.