Parolee is arrested three times; prosecutor seeks bond revocation

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

The man is due to appear in court Thursday.

YOUNGSTOWN — Joseph Jackson has been on parole since 2006, but he can’t seem to stop getting arrested, and prosecutors want to see him behind bars.

Martin Desmond, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, said Jackson, who will be 33 next month, has been arrested three times while on parole since being released from prison in 2006 after serving five years for aggravated robbery.

Desmond said Jackson should be afforded due process, but his bond should be revoked while the cases work their way through the courts.

“For the time being, he should not be roaming the streets. I want to see his bond revoked,” Desmond said.

Jackson was given bond amounts of $35,000, $50,000 and a personal recognizance bond, respectively, on the three cases he has pending in common pleas court. He made bond and is out of jail awaiting trial.

According to a motion to revoke bond filed in common pleas court this week, police arrested Jackson on charges of illegally possessing a firearm and possession of cocaine, and a grand jury indicted him April 10, 2008, on those charges. Jackson is a convicted felon and cannot have a weapon or possess drugs.

Five days after that indictment, he was again arrested in Youngstown for possession of cocaine. He was indicted on that charge May 22, 2008.

Desmond said prosecutors, before the May 22 indictment, asked the court to revoke Jackson’s bond on the first two cases, but the request was denied by then Judge Timothy Franken. The state asked the court to reconsider the revocation of Jackson’s bond after the May indictment, but Desmond said that motion also was denied.

Jackson ultimately pleaded guilty to the 2008 cases Jan. 29 this year, but he remained free on bond. The day after entering that plea, however, Youngstown police again arrested and charged him with possession of drugs.

Jackson’s sentencing was set for May 20 on the first two cases, but it was rescheduled for June. At the June sentencing, Jackson made, and was granted, an oral motion to withdraw his guilty plea to those cases. All three pending cases will now be set for trial.

Desmond again has made a motion to a judge to have Jackson’s bond revoked.

“Enough is enough. I have had it with this guy. This person needs to have his feet held to the fire. That is why I filed this motion to revoke [his bond],” Desmond said.

Jackson is set to appear before Judge Lou D’Apolito on Thursday. The judge could rule on the motion to revoke Jackson’s bond and have him put in jail at that time.

jgoodwin@vindy.com