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Man indicted in '14 shooting of 9-year-old has history of weapons offenses
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
For Devante Scott, detectives are hoping the fifth time is a charm.
The 20-year-old Cranbrook Drive man has three warrants for his arrest and was indicted Thursday in the April 2014 wounding of a 9-year-old girl who was sitting at a table in her home doing homework. He was arrested on an unrelated firearms charge late Thursday evening just hours after the indictment was issued, giving him five firearms-related offenses since 2012 and four pending felony-firearms cases in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
“Let’s hope this time the fifth time is a charm,” said Detective Sgt. Michael Lambert, who spearheaded the investigation into the wounding of Kathryn Carter last year in her East Judson Avenue home.
Scott was arrested in a driveway in the 400 block of West Dewey Avenue about 10:20 p.m. on charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, obstructing official business, possession of drugs marijuana, possession of drugs and the warrants.
Magistrate Anthony Sertick, citing what he termed the “general safety of the citizens of Youngstown,” set Scott’s bond at $55,000 during his arraignment Friday. Scott seemed genuinely surprised during his arraignment via video hookup when Assistant Prosecutor Shelli Freeze said he was wanted for the shooting last year, and said: “You mean I’m not getting out?”
Carter was hospitalized for several days after she was wounded, but detectives were not able to get an indictment until Thursday. Chief of Detectives Capt. Brad Blackburn said Friday that early on, Scott was a suspect, and a home on Hilton Avenue he was known to stay at was searched the day after Carter was wounded.
Police found weapons there but they did not match the gun used to wound Carter, so Scott was arrested on charges of defacing a firearm and unlawful possession of dangerous ordnance.
He was able to post bond in that case, which still is pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. But he skipped an Oct. 15 court appearance before Judge Shirley Christian, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
While out on bond for that case, he was further charged in Struthers in October on two counts of receiving stolen property, carrying a concealed weapon and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. The case was bound over to a grand jury and Scott was indicted, but he failed to show up for his arraignment in that case and another warrant was issued for his arrest in November.
Scott also was charged as a juvenile for his role in the 2012 break-in at AAA Customs gun shop on Market Street on Sept. 23, 2012. About three dozen high-powered guns were taken from there, and the one adult in the case, Brett McFarland, 21, received a 101/2-year sentence in December.
On Thursday, an officer tried to pull over a car Scott was driving for running a red light when it pulled into the drive. Reports said Scott told police it was his home, but a man inside said he did not know Scott — and when asked who his father was, Scott was not able to tell the officer, reports said.
Reports said the car smelled like marijuana, and Scott gave police a bag of suspected marijuana, then tried to run away when he got out of the car but was caught quickly. There also was a bag containing seven pills in the car and a Glock .45-caliber semiautomatic with a fully loaded magazine under the driver’s seat.
Blackburn said getting Scott off the street is a good feeling.
“It feels good to finally bring some closure to that but unfortunately, the damage is done,” Blackburn said.
Lambert said they have no idea why Scott was shooting a gun that evening. Lambert said there was no other gunfire in the area, and as far as they know, no one was threatening him at the time.
Blackburn said no matter how old a case, detectives always are ready to check a tip that hopefully will reopen it and bring it to a conclusion.
“Just because the case isn’t right in front of the detective doesn’t mean we won’t go forward,” Blackburn said.