Gun charge dropped as man pleads guilty to drug charges

YOUNGSTOWN — A weapons charge was dropped today in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against a man pleading guilty to drug charges because a plea in juvenile court that would have designated him a felon was never entered into a national database.

Assistant Prosecutor Ken Cardinal told Judge Maureen Sweeney that the the felony trafficking in marijuana charge Casey Johnson was convicted of as a juvenile should have barred him from having a weapon, but because the plea was never entered into a national database, he was able to legally purchase 17 AK-47s and ammunition from a federally licensed firearms dealer.

Because of that, a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm was dropped against Johnson, 28, who pleaded guilty to possession of LSD and trafficking in LSD charges.

Johnson was charged after police serving a search warrant found LSD and the guns.

As part of the plea agreement, Cardinal said all 17 AK-47s seized by police will be forfeited.