Two face charges in attack on police officers

By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A Warren man and woman are under Trumbull County grand jury indictment in an ambush-style attack on two Warren police officers.
Kalen Watson, 21, of 230 Highland Ave. and Taquandra Alexander, 18, of 364 Fourth St. are being held in Trumbull County Jail.
Alexander pleaded innocent to her charges and is being held on $250,000 bond. Watson will be arraigned today.
Police said detectives Melanie Gambill and Dave Weber were working a narcotics detail in the Hampshire House Apartments on Fifth Street on the Southwest Side on Sept. 22 when shots were fired. The shots came from behind an unmarked car the detectives were in.
Detective Mike Currington, heading the investigation, said the detectives "heard bullets overhead" as they tried to escape the gunfire.
The shots are believed to have come from an older, four-door, boxy white or gray car. Currington said the vehicle contained three people, who had planned the assault on the officers in advance.
Currington said the attack appeared to be retaliation against the detectives for previous investigative work targeting one or more of the suspects.
Charges
Watson was indicted on two counts of felonious assault with a firearm specification, a drive-by shooting specification and a shooting at a peace officer specification. He was also indicted on a charge of having a weapon while under disability.
The gun disability charge says Watson, at the time of committing the crime, was under indictment for and had been convicted of an offense involving illegal possession or trafficking in drugs.
According to Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, Watson was convicted in March of four counts of trafficking in cocaine. He was sentenced to five years of probation. Currington said Watson was also under indictment at the time on other drug charges.
Alexander was indicted on two counts of complicity to commit felonious assault with a firearm specification and a drive-by shooting specification.
If convicted, both suspects could face 30 years or more in prison, the detective said.
Currington said the investigation is continuing and additional charges are expected. The third suspect in the vehicle is incarcerated in a state penitentiary, he said, but additional suspects are also expected to be charged.
"We are going to go for the maximum sentence because we're just not going to tolerate police officers being shot at," he said.
No one shot
The detectives were not hit by the gunfire, but shots hit the left tail light of their car, the area behind the car and a building across the street. Police said at least 10 shots were fired; casings and bullets were found.
With the help of the Trumbull County Adult Probation Department, police arrested Watson and recovered the weapon used in the crime within 12 hours, Currington said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation confirmed that the semi-automatic carbine weapon recovered was the one used in the crime, he said.
runyan@vindy.com