Tuesday, March 20, 2012
and Ashley Luthern
YOUNGSTOWN
The crowd at downtown’s St. Patrick’s Day Dash was significantly greater than anticipated and chaotic at times, but police reported only one arrest.
Saturday’s dash brought about 3,000 people downtown. The event attracted about 1,000 last year, said Lyndsey Hughes, the city’s downtown director of events, special projects and marketing.
“I got really nervous and called [Police Chief Rod Foley],” Hughes said.
“What got me nervous was seeing open containers,” Hughes added.
Foley said he had to call in the department’s vice squad because officers “had a hard time keeping [people] in the [outdoor] liquor location.”
That location was on North Phelps Street between West Federal and West Commerce streets, Hughes said.
But after the vice squad arrived, the issue was resolved, Foley said.
Police did arrest 26-year-old John Hura, whose last known address was on Homestead Avenue in the city, on a warrant for failure to appear for a disorderly conduct charge. Officers found Hura about 3 p.m. Saturday sleeping in a planter in the intersection of Hazel and Federal streets, and when Hura was awakened, he appeared “extremely intoxicated,” according to reports.
Officers also were busy issuing citations Saturday night at a checkpoint on the city’s West Side, many relating to marijuana possession or driving under suspension.
A trio of men from New Castle, Pa., were cited for having open containers of alcohol and marijuana in their car at the checkpoint. The men were Michael A. Wisor, 25; David Hooks, 24; and Calvin Keene, 24.
Steve Croom, 34, of West Hylda Avenue in Youngstown, was found to have four suspensions on his driver’s license when he was stopped at the checkpoint, police said. As an officer was writing a citation for driving under suspension, Croom and his reportedly drunk female passenger fled the car, which police later towed from the scene, reports state.