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Man arrested with drugs, gun, gets 160k bond
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A man caught with a large quantity of drugs and a loaded handgun Tuesday had pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge when he was 15.
Danny Williams, 20, of South Avenue, was 15 when he pleaded guilty in the death of a 17-year-old in 2010. When he turned 18, he was arrested again on adult charges of trafficking in marijuana for which he received probation, and he now has a pending drug case in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Tuesday, officers from the vice squad found heroin, crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana, 50 pills, a loaded .40-caliber handgun and $461 in cash inside his car after he led police on a foot and vehicle chase on the South Side about 5:40 p.m.
He was arraigned in municipal court on charges of possession of drugs, possession of crack cocaine, possession of powder cocaine, possession of marijuana, being a felon in possession of a firearm, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under suspension and obstruction of official business. Judge Elizabeth Kobly set his bond at more than $160,000.
Police Chief Robin Lees said the amounts of crack cocaine, heroin and powder cocaine along with the pills were “significant,” all amounts that officers will typically see from someone who is selling drugs.
Reports said vice-squad officers Mike Quinn and Jimmy Hughes Jr. were on patrol when they saw a car driven by Williams run a stop sign on Hilton Avenue.
The two followed the car as it began traveling at high speed, but it failed to pull over, driving on several South Side streets before going north on South Avenue, where the car careened into a parking lot and stopped. Williams then jumped out and began running away.
Hughes chased Williams on foot to a home in the 300 block of East Avondale Avenue and managed to catch Williams, but he resisted efforts at being handcuffed, pushed Hughes away from him and jumped over a rail. Hughes caught him and got him cuffed with help from an officer who was called in for backup.
Quinn found the drugs and gun inside the car as Hughes was chasing Williams. Reports said a records check revealed the gun was stolen from New Castle, Pa., in 2013.
In 2010, Vindicator files show Williams pleaded guilty in juvenile court to the shooting death of Terrance Howard, 17, in August of that year. Howard was found shot to death on East Ravenwood Avenue. In 2011, a 16-year-old cousin of Howard’s was found shot to death at the South Avenue address Williams called home.
The drug case that is pending stems from a raid on an East Lucius Avenue home in May by the vice squad. Inside, police found heroin and marijuana and a digital scale and Williams had more than $1,900 cash on him.