Youngstown man convicted for firearms violation

Youngstown man convicted for firearms violation

WARREN — A 48-year-old Youngstown man is expected to receive a four-year prison sentence Dec. 12 for incidents involving firearms, one of them at his job at McDonald Steel last December.

Elwood E. Blair, of Roosevelt Drive, has pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of felonious assault and one count of illegal possession of a firearm in liquor-permit premises.

He accepted a plea agreement that would result in him going to prison for four years in the middle of a jury trial in the courtroom of Judge W. Wyatt McKay in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Two of the charges pertain to an incident Dec. 21, 2006, at the mill, in which Blair tried to pick a fight with a co-worker and pulled a gun on him, said McDonald Police Chief Lou Ronghi.

The prosecutor’s office said the incident included Blair, who is white, using a racial slur against his victim, who is black.

The other incident occurred at Masters Bar & Grill on Trumbull Avenue in Liberty on Sept. 8, 2006, in which Blair was accused of taking a firearm inside of the business.