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LaBrae QB, two others face drug charges
Jenkins, a senior, was dismissed from the football team earlier this week
By Ed Runyan
LORDSTOWN
Justin Jenkins, the starting quarterback for the LaBrae High School football team until recently, was charged by Lordstown police early Saturday with minor misdemeanor drug abuse.
According to Lordstown police, Jenkins was one of three males in a car pulled over on Tod Avenue Southwest at 3:45 a.m. for a speed violation.
During the traffic stop, the patrol officer smelled marijuana and asked if there was any in the car. All three admitted to smoking it earlier but denied that there was any in the car.
During a search, the officer found a small bag of marijuana under the front passenger seat toward the back — the seat in which Jenkins had been riding.
None of the three initially admitted to it being theirs, but Jenkins “reluctantly said it was his because he did not want his friend, who was in the National Guard, to get in trouble,” a police report said.
Because it was unclear which of the three owned the marijuana and all three admitted to smoking it, all three were charged with minor misdemeanor drug abuse, said Brent Milhoan, Lordstown police chief.
The driver, Andrew Mahan, 20, of Mahoning Avenue in Warren, was given a warning for speed, and Jenkins, of Meadowbrook Drive in Leavittsburg, was given a warning for a curfew violation. The third male in the car was Collin Phillips, 18, of Layer Road in Leavittsburg.
Charges were filed in Newton Falls Municipal Court against Mahan and Phillips, who both appeared Thursday. Mahan pleaded not guilty, and a trial date of Oct. 7 was set. Phillips pleaded no contest, was found guilty, was fined $50 and court costs, and his driver’s license was suspended for six months. The charge was filed in Trumbull County Juvenile Court against Jenkins, but information about his first court appearance was not available Thursday at the juvenile court.
Jenkins, a senior, was dismissed from the football team for an unspecified disciplinary matter, according to Superintendent Anthony J. Calderone.
LaBrae football coach John Armeni said of the matter, “These are kids and sometimes they make bad decisions. We can only hope he learns from them.
“He’s a great kid and he happened to make some bad decisions. I still think he’s a young man with a great future. He means a lot to us and to our guys and our program.”
Jenkins, 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, rushed for 217 yards and passed for 314 yards as the Vikings got off to a 3-0 start.
LaBrae begins All-American Athletic Conference National Division play tonight at home against Jefferson, also off to a 3-0 start.