Cops find gun, 10 bags of pot

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Police found a loaded 9mm handgun and 10 small bags of suspected marijuana in a car as they went to writeup the driver for a parking citation Wednesday.

Reports said officers working a Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority patrol spotted a car driven by John Tufino, 21, of Youngstown, park illegally in front of a home in the 1500 block of Woodcrest Avenue on the East Side about 5:40 p.m.

When they went to check with the driver, they discovered he had no license, and the plates on the car were registered to another vehicle, reports said.

When officers asked for the car’s title, a woman who was a passenger opened the trunk, and the officers could smell marijuana, reports said. They then saw the gun under the driver’s seat, reports said.

When the officers told Tufino he was under arrest, he tried to run away. Two officers tried to restrain him and get his hands cuffed, but he managed to break free. The officers, however, caught him and eventually got him cuffed when they threatened to use an electronic stun gun on him, reports said.

As they tried to restrain him, the woman who was in the car was running in front of the officers, and a large crowd gathered and began to taunt the officers, reports said. Order was restored when other officers arrived, according to the report.

When they searched the car, police found a bag that had 10 small bags of suspected marijuana inside, reports said.

Tufino was taken to the Mahoning County jail and booked on charges of carrying a concealed weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, resisting arrest and possession of drugs/marijuana. He is expected to be arraigned today in municipal court.