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Pavlik fails to show for arraignment, is arrested, released
By joe gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Friday had to be a topsy- turvy day for former middleweight boxing champion Kelly Pavlik.
He was due in court at 9 a.m. for an arraignment on a misdemeanor theft charge filed by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office for an accusation that he refused to pay a $25 cab fare to his Canfield Township home earlier this week, but he never showed.
After waiting an hour and 45 minutes, Mahoning County Area Court Judge Scott Hunter issued a warrant for his arrest. Pavlik was taken into custody, booked at the county jail for the warrant, then allowed to post a $2,500 recognizance bond and released.
His next court appearance is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The charge stems from a ride Pavlik called for from a South Meridian Road bar about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, and he was picked up by a driver for A Cab Company. When the driver reached his home about 10 minutes later, he asked for the fare, and, according to a sheriff’s report, Pavlik swore at the driver and went into the house without paying.
The driver called 911 and met a deputy sheriff at a U.S. Route 224 gas station, where a report was made.
Pavlik said earlier in the week he refused to pay because the cabdriver got lost. The owner of the cab company said Pavlik had been given rides in similar situations from his company before.
In court, his attorney, Damian Billak, had asked for a continuance until Tuesday, but Judge Hunter denied that request.
As media scrambled for his mugshot, it was learned that the celebrity website TMZ also was clamoring for it, and the site did post it and a short story.