43
Youngstown magistrate turns down request for lawyer
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Denzel Johnson told a municipal court magistrate Friday he has no job, owns no property or motor vehicles, has no checking or savings account, no cash on hand, and his mother takes care of him.
But he did have almost $2,900 in his pockets when he was arrested Thursday by vice squad officers serving a search warrant at a Ravine Drive home, and the officers also found an additional $500 cash in the kitchen.
The cash did not stop Johnson from asking for a court- appointed lawyer, but Magsitrate Anthony Sertick said he could not appoint a lawyer for someone who has such a large amount of cash and can’t explain it.
“As you can tell, I’m not very happy about this, Mr. Johnson,” Sertick said.
Johnson was arrested when officers served the warrant about 4:20 p.m. Thursday. Reports said a woman also was at the home with two of her children, who reports listed as juveniles. Besides the cash, police found three scales and a bag of crack cocaine. The $500 cash was found in a kitchen drawer, and $2,878 was found on Johnson when he was searched.
The woman was not charged. She was allowed to leave with the children, reports said.
Johnson also is facing pending charges of first-degree felony possession of drugs and fourth-degree felony possession of drugs after vice officers served a warrant in December at a Delaware Avenue home where they found a large amount of crack cocaine, cash and a 9 mm handgun. Johnson was one of four people arrested there. Those charges have since been bound over to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, and Johnson was indicted by a grand jury earlier this year.
When he was arraigned Friday via video hookup on charges of fifth-degree felony possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia, Johnson said he needed a court-appointed lawyer. As he often does, Sertick, as do the two municipal court judges, asked Johnson a series of questions to determine if he needed a lawyer, such as whether he has a job or savings or has any property or other assets he can use to hire counsel.
Johnson answered no to each question. When the magistrate asked Johnson how someone with no job, savings or assets could have such a large amount of cash on him, Johnson said it belonged to his girlfriend. Sertick said that perhaps Johnson should ask her to get him a lawyer.
“Maybe your girlfriend then will be able to hire an attorney,” Sertick said.
Sertick set Johnson’s bond at $20,000.
Also arraigned Friday was Michael McCullough, 24, of Youngs-town, who was arrested about 9:20 p.m. Wednesday on Glenwood Avenue by a trooper with the Canfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol after he was pulled over for excessive window tint.
Reports said the trooper could smell marijuana coming from the car, and when he first made contact with McCullough, McCullough had his hands in the air and said he had a handgun in the glove box. McCullough was taken out of the car and searched, and the trooper felt a large bulge in McCullough’s pants that turned out to be a bag containing heroin, cocaine and a small amount of marijuana, reports said. He also had $1,181 cash on him, which was seized by troopers, reports said.
Troopers also found a loaded handgun in the glove box, reports said.
McCullough was arraigned on charges of possession of heroin, possession of crack cocaine and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. Sertick set his bond at $50,000.