Marijuana enterprise broken up

YOUNGSTOWN — Two people were arrested Friday on charges they were part of an enterprise that sold hundreds of pounds of marijuana a month, joining a third person indicted earlier by a Mahoning County grand jury.

A fourth person was arrested Thursday night and charged with drug trafficking, though not as part of the enterprise, said an officer with the Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force.

Those arrested Friday are Dwayne St. Thomas, 30, who lives in an apartment on Mistletoe Avenue in Youngstown, and Darrell Dudley, 35, who lives in an apartment upstairs from St. Thomas, said Bob Patton, a Youngstown police officer on the task force.

They were arrested on warrants after secret indictments. They are facing drug trafficking charges, Patton said, along with charges they were part of the drug distribution ring that operated in Youngstown for more than three years.

Kenneth Johnson, 41, of Aberdeen Avenue in Youngstown, was arrested Thursday night. He faces only trafficking charges, Patton said. Johnson is the stepfather of St. Thomas, Patton said.

Searches at the three homes turned up marijuana, money and evidence the task force intends to use in identifying others involved in the ring, he said. The three men are at the Mahoning County jail and will be arraigned in common pleas court early next week, he said.

The third person charged so far with being in the drug ring is Philip M. Miner, 21, of Claridge Drive in Austintown. He was indicted Dec. 6 after a direct presentment to the grand jury. He is expected to turn himself in with his lawyer Tuesday at the common pleas court, Patton said.

Miner is charged with four counts of drug trafficking and five counts of money laundering, according to his indictment. The indictment includes forfeiture specifications.

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