Gun found in car after foot chase

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

For the second day, police Wednesday found a loaded handgun in a car after a foot chase.

Unlike Tuesday’s chase, however, in which the driver bailed out of a car and was caught, the driver in Wednesday’s incident managed to elude police.

Reports said vice-squad officers on patrol about 2:45 p.m. at Hudson and West Judson avenues on the South Side tried to pull over a car that failed to stop at a stop sign.

Instead, after the driver pulled over, he ignored orders to stay in his car and ran away. He led the officers on a foot chase through several yards before he leaped a large fence at West Judson and Mistletoe avenues, where police lost sight of him.

Inside the car, police found a loaded 9 mm handgun that records showed was reported stolen July 7 in Youngstown.

Reports also said the car was stolen from a Market Street gas station over the weekend while the keys were still in it.

Police have seized seven guns this week, including five after responding to a gunfire call late Tuesday on the North Side after receiving multiple calls for gunfire on several streets, including Wick, Logan, Zents, Hanley and Thornton avenues. Two of those guns were found in a car and two more in a backyard, reports said.

According to Vindicator files, police have seized 82 guns so far this year.