TRUMBULL COUNTY Felony gun case goes to the grand jury

Police said the lawyer had a handgun under her seat and another in her pants.
WARREN -- Two loaded handguns found during a March 19 traffic stop led a municipal judge to bind Warren attorney Maridee Costanzo's felony case over to a Trumbull County grand jury.
Costanzo, 46, and her lawyer Thomas Zena offered no evidence Monday during a preliminary hearing after testimony by two Howland Township officers.
Municipal Judge Terry Ivanchak found that Prosecutor Nick Graham had proven there was sufficient evidence to bind the case over. Costanzo's $5,000 surety bond was continued. She is charged with carrying a concealed weapon.
The car she was riding in was stopped on North Road by Howland police about 12:20 a.m. March 19 for a routine traffic citation. Officer Jeffery Zelinsky said the license of the driver, William Cindea, 56, of Warren, was under suspension.
A call to police
Moments before the traffic stop, Costanzo's estranged husband had called police saying someone caused damage to his garage door and front window on North Road. Atty. Roger Bauer told police that he felt the damage may have been done by his estranged wife. Costanzo has not been charged in that matter, and it did not come up in court Monday.
Zelinsky said the traffic stop was random; he has a practice of checking registrations on temporary tags, he testified.
The car Costanzo was riding in was stopped about a block from Bauer's North Road home.
Zelinsky and officer Jennifer Carr testified that Costanzo had a loaded .38-caliber handgun in the front of her jeans. Police also found a loaded .22-caliber handgun under the seat on the passenger's side. She told police that the guns belonged to Cindea.
"She stated it wasn't hers, that she was told by the driver to put it in her pants because it wouldn't fit under the seat," Carr testified.
Zelinsky recalled that Costanzo had said Cindea handed her the guns when he realized he was about to be pulled over. When one wouldn't fit under the seat he told her, "Stuff it down your pants, then."
Zelinsky said Cindea had a stun gun in the pocket of his jacket and a 4-inch folding knife in the front pocket of his jeans.
Cindea in court
Cindea was in the municipal court gallery Monday but would not testify because he had no attorney, Zena told Judge Ivanchak. At one point in the proceeding, Costanzo motioned Cindea to her side, and they had a whispered conversation.
Graham said matters related to Cindea's case are a separate issue, to which Zena responded: "It is fiction to think they are not interrelated."
Cindea has pleaded innocent to three charges of carrying a concealed weapon and one charge of driving under suspension. He, too, is free on bond.
To be lifted Wednesday is a condition of Costanzo's bond that had kept her off North Road between East Market Street and U.S. Route 422, where Bauer lives.
Bauer and Costanzo share a law office. Costanzo had been a public defender for several years. However, the state public defender's commission did not renew her contract in June.