7 arrested in Warren drug raid

The raid was part of a larger ‘street cleaning project’ in northwest Warren.

WARREN — While police officers were inside a drug house on North Street Northwest conducting a drug raid Thursday night, a number of people stopped by.

Lt. Jeff Orr, of the Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force, said in about two hours’ time police had arrested seven people who stopped there. Police said three had outstanding warrants, three had a crack pipe in their possession and one had endangered his 6-year-old daughter.

Roy D. Baker, 43, of Belmont Avenue, Niles, was charged with child endangering, a first-degree misdemeanor, after officers discovered that he had gone to the door of the house while leaving the car running and his daughter in the car.

Baker was arrested, and a relative was called to take the child home, Orr said.

Baker pleaded innocent Friday in Warren Municipal Court to the charge, which carries a possible penalty of six months in jail. His bond was set at $2,000.

TAG worked with officers from the Howland, Niles, Kinsman and Warren police departments and Trumbull County Adult Probation Department to execute a search warrant at the house, which officers knew as a sales spot for crack cocaine, Orr said.

Three Warren men were arrested from inside the house and charged with aggravated drug trafficking.

They are George R. Pugh, 59, of Mahoning Avenue Northwest; Antwon D. Williams, 28, South Street; and William R. Hill, 22, Fifth Street Southwest. Innocent pleas were entered for each man, and bond amounts were set at $5,000 each. If convicted, each man faces up to eight years in prison.

The raid is part of a larger “street-cleaning project” in the northwest Warren area, Orr said, adding, “The drug addiction that fuels these establishments continues to be a serious problem.”

During the raid, officers seized crack cocaine, digital scales, marijuana, prescription pills, drug paraphernalia, surveillance cameras, a police scanner, about $3,500 in cash and a .380-caliber handgun, Orr said.

After taking Pugh, Williams and Hill to jail, officers continued to process evidence inside the home. That’s when Baker and six others were arrested on various charges and warrants, Orr said.

Arrested on warrants were Kathi D. Patterson, 51, and Mark A. Patterson, 53, of Center Street East, Champion; and Cory D. Lucas, 40, of Parkman Road.

Charged with possession of drug paraphernalia were Quinn P. Stanley, 39, of Sheridan Avenue Northeast; Toni A. Angelo, 45, of Mazda Avenue Northeast; and Thomas D. Giovannone, 58, of Barcelona Drive, Niles.

All pleaded innocent and were released after posting $2,000 bond.