Two face charges in July 4 incident
BOARDMAN
Two men, one a former Mahoning County deputy sheriff, will be back in court next month facing charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and an open-container violation.
Robert D. McCabe, 26, of Boardman, and Patrick M. Malie, 26, of Youngstown, were arrested July 4 after Boardman police were called to Euclid Boulevard for a drive-by house shooting.
The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that McCabe served as a deputy from September 2006 to March 2008. In addition to the two charges, McCabe also is charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Both men are represented by Atty. J. Gerald Ingram and have a pretrial hearing scheduled for Aug. 26 in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield.
Police said they were called to the 4000 block of Euclid about 11:30 p.m. July 4, and a male occupant of the residence told them he was in bed when he heard a gunshot.
The man told officers he found a large hole in the drywall of the west kitchen wall, a gold-colored projectile on the floor, and a large bullet hole on the front exterior of his house, according to reports.
The man also told police he saw a vehicle turn slowly on Orlo Lane and then return to Euclid, officers said.
Police stopped the car and identified McCabe, who has a concealed-carry permit, as the driver. Reports state that McCabe denied having anything to do with the shooting or having guns on his person or in the car. He also refused to allow police to search his car.
Officers noted in the report that McCabe appeared to be drunk, and he later refused a Breathalyzer test. When an officer looked through the passenger window, he saw the back of two handguns in the center console, according to reports.
Malie, the passenger, exited the car and told police, “We both were shooting in the air,” reports state.
Police identified the guns as a Springfield model 1911 .45-caliber pistol with no bullets in the magazine or chamber and a Glock model 23 .40-caliber pistol with six bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber, records show.
Officers said they saw an open can of Coors Light in the passenger door drink holder and another under the driver’s seat.
Police Chief Jack Nichols said the two men may face additional charges pending further investigation. One charge that could be added is firing into a habitation, a second-degree felony.
That charge, however, is dependent on what evidence from the crime scene reveals and that evidence has not yet come back from the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Nichols said.