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Ex-YSU student given probation for drug sales
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
YOUNGSTOWN
A former Youngstown State University student involved in minor marijuana sales around the campus area will be on probation for one year.
Travis Brown, 23, of Columbus and previously of Youngstown, appeared for sentencing Thursday before Judge John M. Durkin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. Brown previously had pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of marijuana.
Prosecutors say Brown was involved in three minor marijuana transactions around the campus area in fall 2009.
Martin Desmond, an assistant county prosecutor, recommended Brown be placed on probation. He said Brown has no previous criminal record and is unlikely to commit crimes in the future.
“He was selling small amounts of marijuana on campus and had to be punished, but this shows how very easily someone can get caught up in the drug trade,” Desmond said. “He has since made lifestyle changes and is hopefully on the right track.”
Attorney J. Gerald Ingram, representing Brown, said the changes in his client’s lifestyle make him a prime candidate for probation and highly unlikely to be back before the court.
“He has made lifestyle changes and moved from Youngstown to Columbus. He is enrolled in school. He has no criminal record. He has maintained employment. ... The recidivism-likely factors simply do not apply,” Ingram added.
Just before his sentence was handed down, Brown apologized for his actions while a student at YSU.
“When I went to Youngstown State, it was to get an education, and I got sidetracked. I left Youngstown and realized this wasn’t for me. I moved to Columbus. I am in school and moving along day by day,” Brown told the judge.