$700K bond set in case of assault on YSU officer
and Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
Seth McDaniel is accused of leading police on a high-speed chase and assaulting a Youngstown State University officer.
And he won’t be getting out of Mahoning County jail until he can post hundreds of thousands of dollars in bond.
McDaniel, 33, of South Hazelwood Avenue, appeared Wednesday before Judge Robert Douglas of Youngs-town Municipal Court for arraignment on felony charges of aggravated robbery, two counts of felonious assault and failure to comply. He also faces two misdemeanor charges of child endangering.
McDaniel told the court his only income is Social Security disability, so the judge assigned him an attorney, then set his bond at a total of $700,000 — $150,000 for each felony charge against him and $50,000 for each misdemeanor charge against him.
McDaniel’s preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 28.
Prosecutors told the court McDaniel has a previous conviction for receiving stolen property in another state.
According to police, YSU Officer Dan Farinelli saw McDaniel — driving a Jeep vehicle — go through a stop sign without stopping while heading east on Lincoln Avenue at Phelps Street on campus about 5 p.m. Tuesday. The officer put on his lights, stopped the vehicle and walked to the driver’s window.
Farinelli noticed a temporary license plate on the car that had expired in May and asked McDaniel for his license and registration. McDaniel said he had no brakes on the car, and he tried to leave the vehicle. Farinelli told him to stay in the car.
YSU Police Chief Jack Gocala said McDaniel also had a warrant from Girard Municipal Court for failure to appear on a citation for having no driver’s license.
McDaniel is accused of grabbing onto the officer’s sweater vest during the traffic stop and beginning to drive, dragging him about 30 feet. Farinelli rolled away from the car, and he and a second officer who had arrived chased the Jeep, which traveled on Wick Avenue through downtown across the Market Street bridge to Interstate 680.
At about the Connecticut Avenue/Belle Vista exit on I-680 on the West Side, McDaniel rammed the Jeep into one of the cruisers twice before coming to a stop, police said.
McDaniel’s two children, age 5 and 6, were in the back seat of the Jeep, leading to the child-endangering charges.
The aggravated-robbery charge stems from an attempt by McDaniel to grab a gun from one of the officers, prosecutors said. The officer said he had to struggle with McDaniel to hold onto the gun.
Prosecutors asked the court for a higher bond, saying if McDaniel had managed to get the officer’s gun there would have been a much more serious situation. They also labeled McDaniel as a clear flight risk, willing to do anything to escape capture by police.