Youngstown man faces weapons charge

YOUNGSTOWN — Police reports said officers found a loaded .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun underneath the driver’s seat of a car they pulled over for no front license plate about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Randolph Avenue and Salt Springs Road on the West Side.

Police took Jerry Ayala, 32, of Oakwood Avenue, to Mahoning County jail on a charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle.

Reports said when a pair of vice squad officers pulled Ayala over he appeared nervous but did give them permission to search his car, which is when they found the gun.