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Man get six months for police chase
By joe gorman
youngstown
A Mahoning County judge sentenced a Fincastle Lane man to six months in the county jail for his role in a police chase in February.
Judge Lou D’Apolito of common pleas court also placed Michael Gibson, 37, on three years’ probation after his jail term at Gibson’s hearing Friday. He entered guilty pleas in May to charges of attempted assault on a police officer, receiving stolen property and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.
According to police reports, officers tried to pull over a car Gibson was driving Feb. 12 on South Avenue because the windows were too dark.
Instead, he failed to stop and led police on a chase through the South Side, Struthers, Coitsville and the East Side before crashing into a pole on Wilson Avenue. He then ran out of the car toward a wooded area and was forced out of the woods at gunpoint, police said.
His lawyer, Ron Yarwood, told Judge D’Apolito that Gibson was stuck in his car and was rocking it back and forth trying to get free after he crashed. There also was an officer close to the car, which was reported stolen from Warren.
Yarwood said he knew his client would probably be sentenced to some sort of jail sentence, but he told the judge that Gibson and his girlfriend of nine years are caring for their children and other children Gibson has. He also asked that Gibson be sentenced close to his children.
Gibson took full responsibility for his actions.
“I’m sorry for what I have done,” Gibson said. “If I can take it back, I would. I’m willing to accept whatever you put down in front of me.”
Among Judge D’Apolito’s conditions for probation is that Gibson get a job when he gets out of jail.