Man arraigned for hospital tantrum

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A Negley man was arraigned in municipal court Monday on a possession of heroin charge stemming from an Oct. 27 visit to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

Reports said he verbally abused hospital staff, stole some equipment and left a dose of suspected heroin in a light fixture.

Duallen Stanford, 23, was given a bond of $7,500 by Judge Elizabeth Kobly, who also set a Nov. 23 pretrial hearing date for him.

Assistant City Prosecutor Jeffrey Moliterno told Judge Kobly that Stanford had holed up in a bathroom, swore at doctors and nurses and took what is known as an “arterial blood kit,” because he wanted to use some of the equipment in the kit to help him take drugs.

Reports from MercyHealth Hospital Police said Stanford was taken to the hospital by Canfield Police but reports did not say why. Hospital police were called because Stanford was holed up in a bathroom, yelling and screaming at staff, reports said.

A red object fell out of his pockets that hospital staff told police was from the kit, which has needles and syringes.

Reports said Stanford would not come out of the bathroom even after police were called and officers tried to talk him out.

As officers waited outside they heard a loud bang and went inside to see what was wrong. Reports said they found Stanford standing on the toilet near a light fixture up above, and he said he was not doing anything.

Stanford got down and officers checked inside the fixture and found a dose of suspected heroin, reports said.

At first, reports said Stanford said the heroin came from someone else, but later he admitted to police he had a problem and the drugs were his.