OVI task force makes 11 arrests

Staff report

Youngstown

The Mahoning County OVI Task Force arrested five people Saturday night on charges of drunken driving.

Tracy Styka, Mahoning County OVI Task Force coordinator, said the sobriety checkpoint on Federal Street in downtown Youngstown resulted in 11 total arrests.

Styka said the average blood-alcohol content for those arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated was 0.208. The legal limit is 0.08.

“That average is higher than we’ve been running,” she said. “It was around 0.16, and we previously saw a drop to about 0.12.”

Styka said the location of the checkpoint was determined a year ago.

She said it was coincidence that the checkpoint fell on the same night downtown bars were showing the Kelly Pavlik-Sergio Martinez fight.

“The location was picked by Youngstown, and we based it on OVI arrests and crashes,” she said.

In addition to the five OVI arrests and 10 minor citations, Styka said other arrests included:

One misdemeanor marijuana possession.

Two for open container.

Three for driving under suspension.