Two who served time for past shootings caught with guns

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Police found firearms Tuesday on two men who have past convictions for shooting people.

Charles Tensley, 44, of West Dennick Avenue, was arraigned in municipal court Wednesday before Judge Robert Milich on charges of trafficking in drugs and a warrant for domestic violence.

Tensley was taken into custody about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday after officers George Anderson and John O’Neill Jr. answered an alarm call at his home.

Reports said when Tensley came to the door when the officers knocked, the officers could see a bag of suspected marijuana, a scale and a box of sandwich bags, which are used to package marijuana and other drugs for sale.

Reports said the officers asked Tensley what was on the table and he said “a little bit of weed.” Tensley was then taken into custody on charges of trafficking in drugs, and police found a loaded .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun on the floor underneath the sofa. Reports said the butt end of the gun was sticking out from under the sofa. There also was more suspected marijuana on the fireplace mantel, reports said.

Court records show Tensley pleaded guilty to a charge of felonious assault with a firearm specification in 1990 and was sentenced to five to 15 years in prison. The domestic-violence case was filed Feb. 4, 2015, from a Dec. 30, 2014, incident, but Tensley never showed up for his arraignment, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Judge Milich set his bond at $15,000. Assistant City Prosecutor Jeffrey Moliterno said a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm may be added at a later date because prosecutors could not immediately find paperwork detailing his past conviction and whether it prohibits him from owning a firearm.

About 10:35 p.m., officers Ken Bielik and Michael Medvec arrested Wallace Lewis, 26, of Steel Street, on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property, after they pulled over a car he was a passenger in for an improper turn in the 1800 block of Market Street.

Reports said Lewis was a front-seat passenger, and police asked for identification because he was not wearing a seat belt. When he was asked for his identification he appeared to become very nervous, reports said.

Reports said a passenger in the back of the car gave police a false Social Security number and was asked to step out. Because the officers had previously had encounters with that passenger where he had a firearm, they asked the driver of the car if they could search it for weapons, and the driver gave his consent, reports said.

When police searched the car, they found a loaded .22-caliber revolver under the passenger seat where Lewis was sitting, reports said. A records check revealed the gun had been reported stolen from North Carolina, reports said.

Lewis was sentenced to six years in prison in 2010 for a shooting in November 2009 in which his girlfriend was shot in the stomach.

Judge Milich set his bond at $25,000.