Man indicted in shooting of Austintown cop

The grand jury also indicted a man charged with ramming a police cruiser.

YOUNGSTOWN — A Boardman man has been indicted by a Mahoning County grand jury on charges of attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault with firearm specifications in the shooting of an Austintown police officer.

Carlton W. Sims, 22, of Glenbrook Road was indicted Thursday in the May 8 shooting of Patrolman Joseph Wojciak, who was shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun as he sat in his cruiser about 7 a.m. in the Kmart parking lot on Mahoning Avenue. Wojciak, who was saved from serious injury by the bulletproof vest he was wearing, and other officers captured Sims shortly after the shooting. Wojciak returned to work Wednesday.

Also indicted was Richard W. LaBooth Jr., 29, of East Dewey Avenue, who is charged with two counts of felonious assault and one count each of failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and heroin possession with a forfeiture specification.

The felonious assault charges stem from LaBooth’s allegedly ramming a police cruiser during a chase April 12, and they list a police officer and a police chaplain in the cruiser as victims.

The pursuit began when police said they stopped a sport-utility vehicle, allegedly driven by LaBooth, with an unrestrained 5-year-old boy in the back seat, on Oak Hill Avenue, and the vehicle sped off, running a series of stop signs.

Police said they saw small plastic bags being tossed from an SUV window, and the vehicle narrowly avoided hitting other cars before twice ramming the cruiser on Mahoning Avenue, where police boxed in the SUV and arrested LaBooth. The boy was released to his mother, who wasn’t charged.

Also indicted

Others indicted Thursday were:

U Daniel P. McGarry, 35, of Mahoning Avenue, North Jackson, eight counts of deception to obtain dangerous drugs.

U Shannon P. Dietz, 35, of Mahoning Avenue, North Jackson, 16 counts of deception to obtain dangerous drugs.

U Mitchell T. Romero, 44, of Almyra Avenue, cocaine possession.

U Michael W. Schulz, 45, of Southview Road, Canfield, two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol.

U Daniel Ochman, 41, of Indian Run Drive, Canfield, driving under the influence of alcohol.

U Ronald A. Scurti, 41, of South Osborn Avenue, cocaine possession.

U Jerome Evans, 30, of Seneca Street, marijuana possession with a forfeiture specification.

U Khadija S. Robinson, 27, of Seneca Street, marijuana possession.

U Matthew Kerester, 27, of Bennington Avenue, two counts of theft.

U Michael D. Parker, 36, of Firnley Avenue, breaking and entering.

U Alan Dean, 31, of Cooper Street, domestic violence and marijuana possession.

U Dashawn Harmon, 26, of Eastway Drive, receiving stolen property and cocaine possession.

U Terrence D. McKinney, 20, of New York Avenue, aggravated robbery with a firearm specification.

U Robert S. McCulley, 43, of Burkey Road, Austintown, receiving stolen property and forgery.

U Anderson Black Jr., 29, of Overland Avenue, failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer and two counts of cocaine possession.

U Eric N. Locke, 18, of Blott Road, North Jackson, theft.

U Gerald R. Brown, 44, of Nelson Avenue, cocaine possession and tampering with evidence.

U Amy D. Kaminsky, 29, of Bears Den Road, drug possession.

U Darrius Easterly, 22, of Norwood Avenue, cocaine possession.

U Beau J. Geidner, 18, of Baymar Drive, Boardman, cocaine possession.

U Clyde D. Wagner, 83, of Shady Run Road, theft.

U Edwin J. Torres, 53, of North Hubbard-Coitsville Road, Coitsville, being a felon in possession of a firearm, cocaine trafficking, and two counts of cocaine possession.