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Cops investigate gunshots, find wanted man
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Police investigating gunfire early Monday on the East Side found a man who skipped sentencing in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on a felonious assault charge.
Yaumbrail Jones, 21, whose last known address was on Shehy Street, was found behind a garage in the 1100 block of Verona Avenue about 1:15 a.m. Monday. Police also found two handguns next to him, reports said.
Jones was taken to the county jail on the warrant and also a charge of obstructing official business because reports said he gave police false information about his name. He was arraigned Monday in municipal court on the obstruction charge as well as a felony charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
City Prosecutor Dana Lantz told Magistrate Anthony Sertick that Jones has at least five firearm offenses in Pennsylvania, several of those when he was a juvenile.
Magistrate Sertick set Jones’ bond at $25,000.
Officer Carlo Eggleston was on patrol on Albert Street heading north when he heard several gunshots coming from the direction of Verona Avenue. After calling for backup, reports said they checked the back of a house on Verona Avenue and found Jones and another man sitting behind a garage with two loaded handguns next to them.
Both men were taken into custody, and reports said Jones gave police the correct last name but the wrong first name. Reports said Jones kept telling police he wanted to speak to his attorney and also kept giving them the wrong information.
Eventually, when Jones said his middle name was Yaumbrail, police checked their database with that name as a first name and found out about the warrant, reports said.
Both guns were 9 mm semiautomatic handguns, reports said. Both men were given gunshot-residue tests, reports said, and the guns were taken for evidence.
The other man does not have any warrants, and he was not taken into custody, reports said.
Records show Jones pleaded guilty May 8, 2014, to a charge of felonious assault. Prosecutors were recommending a sentence of five years but agreed to stand silent if he asked for judicial release, court records show. He failed to show for his sentencing June 13, 2014, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.