Gun, drugs, found after foot, car chase

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A stolen gun, pills and marijuana were found by police Thursday after a foot and vehicle chase.

Officer Jason Short was on patrol about 11:55 p.m. on Saranac Avenue when he saw a car driving at high speed. When Short started following the car, the driver swerved to miss a parked car and refused to pull over for him, reports said.

The car sped away until Short found it parked in a yard on Thornton Avenue, reports said. The car was still running and was propped up on a bush, reports said.

Short searched a wooded area for the driver and he was joined by officer John O’Neill Jr., and after yelling commands for the driver to surrender, the driver got on the ground and placed his hands in front of him, reports said. The driver, Kyronn Copeland, 25, was then taken into custody.

Inside the car police found a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol that a records check found had been stolen in 2008 in Meadville, Pa. Also inside the car was a bag with 15 pills and a bag with a small amount of marijuana.

Reports said Copeland refused to answer any questions about the firearm. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail on charges of possession of drugs, possession of marijuana, being a felon in possession of a firearm and receiving stolen property. Judge Elizabeth Kobly set his bond at $30,000 during his arraignment in municipal court Friday.