3 accused of selling drugs near St. Luke’s School on South Ave.

3 accused of selling drugs near St. Luke’s School on South Ave.

staff report

BOARDMAN — Police arrested three Youngstown men who are accused of drug trafficking near a school.

Jaime Torres, 39, and Jesse Aponte, 18, both of East Dewey Avenue, and Jarell Huffman, 21, of East Auburndale Avenue, were arrested Tuesday afternoon after a traffic stop on South Avenue. St. Luke’s School is nearby.

Police found 233 suspected Ecstasy tablets, valued at $3,500, and 39 Ultram tablets, valued at $250, in bags in the car.

Ultram is a narcoticlike pain reliever.

All three men were in the Mahoning County jail.

Officers from the township’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit were working an investigation with the Youngstown office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration Tuesday. The investigation involved the purchase of more than 300 Ecstasy pills from Torres and a man named Jesse, a police report said.

A confidential informant met with the two men at a Market Street business to negotiate a purchase of pills. Torres told the informant that he would get the pills and meet the informant later at an electronics store, the report said.

Police followed the car containing the men as it made several stops in Youngstown.

Police stopped the car after Torres, the driver, ran a red light on South at Lake Park Road, the report said. Aponte was in the front passenger seat, and Huffman was in the back.