EAST SIDE Two brothers are arrested in drug raid

An officer said various drugs were being distributed from the house.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A huge oak dominates the front yard of the small white house at 1649 Knob Court that, until Friday, had surveillance cameras and a veritable arsenal of loaded guns.
City police and members of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force drug and tactical units descended on the East Side house Friday with a search warrant. The warrant came after a five-month investigation initiated by Sgt. Randy Williams of the Youngstown State University campus police department.
Knob Court, a tiny cul-de-sac off Atkinson Avenue, was filled to capacity with a police tactical truck and news cars. During the raid, a small, spotted dog played in the yard and visited with reporters and cops, most of whom petted her.
Two young women, handcuffed and left on the porch during a search of the premises, slumped in their chairs in apparent boredom. They were released after police arrested two brothers.
Charges
Colin McIlveen, 20, faces charges of trafficking in cocaine and trafficking in marijuana. Sean M. McIlveen, 27, faces a charge of illegal possession of a weapon based on a theft conviction in Pennsylvania, said Youngstown Patrolman Bobby Patton, task force drug officer.
Sgt. Bob Magnuson, commander of the MVLETF, said a wide variety of drugs were being distributed from the house to the suburbs, including Hubbard, and YSU students, which explained Williams' interest.
Magnuson said the house had been watched for five months. He declined to say if undercover drug buys had been made there.
Magnuson said Colin McIlveen was renting the house from a relative who has been ill.
Police seized the surveillance cameras and monitors, seven firearms, suspected cocaine, eight bags of marijuana, $1,197 in cash, a stun gun, several switchblade knives and miscellaneous martial-arts weapons.
The guns, most of which were loaded, included assault rifles, handguns and a shotgun.
Magnuson said the house had surveillance cameras mounted outside with monitors inside to protect drug sales.
meade@vindy.com