Police arrest man, seize drugs, cash

The task force commander called amount of drugs found 'supply level.'
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Officers of the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force seized about $21,600 in drugs, nearly $30,000 in cash and six guns from a South Schenley Avenue house.
Officers charged Michael Johntony, 25, who lived there with his girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter, with three counts of felony drug possession. The woman wasn't charged.
He appeared Friday before municipal court Judge Elizabeth Kobly, who set bond at $25,000 on each of the first two charges, and $50,000 on the third charge. He remained in Mahoning County jail late Friday. His preliminary hearing is set for March 27.
Lt. Robin Lees, task force commander, said the Thursday evening arrest and search of Johntony's home culminated a yearlong investigation. Detective Sgt. Jeff Solic of Austintown police led the probe.
Police found the drugs, 451 OxyContin tablets and 60 methadone tablets, with a total street value of $21,600, within the plumbing work in a second-floor bathroom. Lees said the floor was open, indicating work may have been under way.
Task force members used a ram to break down the door and chased Johntony upstairs and into the bathroom.
What was seized
"The amount of drugs indicates he was more than a street dealer," Lees said. "These were supply-level amounts here."
Most of the cash was found in a bag in a first-floor closet. It was separated into bundles, bound with rubber bands. Most of the guns -- five handguns and one rifle -- were found under a bed in the second-floor master bedroom. Task force officers found a gun in a car outside.
"This is a significant amount of pharmaceuticals," the task force commander said. "It's unusual to find that amount of pills in one place."