Man gets 91/2 years in prison for illegally carrying a firearm

Staff report

AKRON

Damien T. Russ, 35, of Second Street, Warren, has been sentenced to 91/2 years in federal prison for illegally carrying a firearm and violating the terms of his probation.

Russ was arrested July 10, 2010, at the Powerhouse Bar & Grill on Mahoning Avenue Northwest during a V-GRIP operation organized by Steven Dettelbach, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. V-GRIP stands for the Violence Gun Reduction and Interdiction Program.

U.S. Marshal Bill Boldin and about seven other members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force went to the Powerhouse to assist Warren police with a large fight about 3 a.m.

Boldin observed Russ walking out of the bar, thought Russ was acting nervously and asked him if everything was OK.

Russ swung his left arm at Boldin, knocking Boldin backward, a Warren police report said.

Boldin and another officer noticed something shiny — later identified as a handgun — in Russ’ waistband as Russ ran away.

Russ was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm during a federal jury trial in May and was sentenced this week.

Russ was not allowed to carry a firearm as a result of a previous drug conviction.

The sentence “should send a loud and clear message to those who would illegally carry firearms,” Dettelbach said. “Leave your guns at home.”