Youngstown man charged with trafficking in drugs

Police will be looking for the second man in the car.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Police said a Youngstown man faces two felony charges after being caught in a drug sting operation and leading them on a high-speed chase.
According to police reports, Ahmad Esmail, Green Acres Drive, Youngstown, has been charged with felony trafficking in drugs and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. Esmail is free on a personal recognizance bond.
Reports say Girard officers;, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents; and members of the Trumbull, Ashtabula, Geauga Task Force set up surveillance in the area of State Street and Crumlin Avenue for an undercover drug arrest. Jeff Orr, TAG Task Force officer, said undercover agents had spoken extensively with Esmail and set up the drug buy.
Orr said Esmail bought 500 OxyContin tablets from an undercover officer for $7,500. When officers moved in to arrest Esmail, reports say, he took off from the scene driving a Dodge van.
What happened next
Reports say Girard officers in marked police cars chased the van as it reached speeds in excess of 80 mph, running red lights and nearly hitting other cars in its path. Officers called off the chase for safety reasons as the car headed for Interstate 680.
Orr said officers called Esmail and persuaded him to turn himself in to police.
Esmail, in a separate police report, told police his side of the story, saying he was part of a drug deal gone bad. He said a regular customer at a store he owns on Glenwood in Youngstown asked for a ride to a potential drug deal at a business on State Street, and he obliged.
According to reports, Esmail told authorities that after the deal was completed, the man, accompanied by another man, jumped back into his van and demanded that he drive. He said the two men put him out of his van on Interstate 680 and drove away.
Orr said another person may have been in the van when Esmail showed up to buy the drugs, but it was Esmail that set up the deal with officers and made the purchase at the meeting point.
Orr said officers will be looking for the second person in the car, who could also face charges.
jgoodwin@vindy.com