Local grant to target gun crimes

WARREN -- The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services has awarded a $19,965 grant to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office to fund prosecution of gun-related crimes.
The grant follows a $120,000 firearms grant for 2002-2005, which the office obtained with the help of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland.
Firearms cases in the county's common pleas court have risen from 32 in 2002 to 52 in 2003, 69 in 2004 and 78 last year.
A record 950 adult criminal cases were filed in common pleas court last year. Two capital cases, in which firearms were used to kill victims, are pending in the county. Firearms cases have also increased in juvenile court, the prosecutor's office said.
The prosecutor's office is applying for a three-year continuation grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker is the lead prosecutor in the gun unit and has been assisted by David Toepfer, assistant prosecutor. They have been assigned to prioritize the prosecution of violent criminals, said Prosecutor Dennis Watkins.