Man seeking help faces charges

YOUNGSTOWN -- A Girard man was in guarded condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center after driving what police said was a stolen sport utility vehicle to city hall in search of help.
Police charged Jerome Morgan, 30, of Forsythe Avenue, with theft of a motor vehicle Thursday and are considering whether other charges are appropriate after Morgan showed up at city hall around 10:30 a.m. shouting that someone was trying to kill him.
Police said he took a woman's vehicle and was also involved in a hit-and-run crash as he was driving it.
They took Morgan into custody at city hall.
Morgan told police he was smoking crack for two days and was trying to get away from the people he was with because someone was trying to kill him. Police said he feared for his life, was under the influence of drugs, was paranoid and was not making any sense, so they took him to St. Elizabeth's for observation, they said.
Woman's vehicle taken
A woman told police Morgan approached her vehicle as she was stopped at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Superior Street, shouting he needed help and to call 911. Morgan opened the door and climbed over her into the passenger seat, stating over and over that someone was trying to kill him, she said.
The woman got out of the vehicle and he drove off in it, continuing south on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard toward downtown, she said.
Police said Morgan was involved in a hit-and-run crash with another vehicle at Federal Plaza and Fifth Avenue. Police near city hall observed Morgan driving recklessly and said he stopped the vehicle in front of city hall on Phelps Street in the middle of the road.