100-count indictment charges 5 Valley men with drug offenses

Staff report

CLEVELAND

A federal grand jury returned a 100-count indictment charging five Youngstown men with distributing heroin and crack cocaine, with a specification concerning a fatal overdose last year, the U.S. attorney and FBI said.

The indictment includes a sentencing enhancement charging that one of the defendants, Shayne Mascarella, 22, supplied the heroin that caused someone’s death July 19, 2015, in Youngstown.

Besides Mascarella, those indicted are William Williams, 33; Derrick Brown, 35; Tyrell Hollis, 22, and Emmanuel Bunkley, 35.

“This group spread misery throughout the Mahoning Valley in the name of profit,” U.S. Attorney Steven M. Dettelbach said. “They destroyed families. ... We will continue to do all we can to curtail Ohio’s opioid epidemic, including vigorous criminal prosecutions,” he added.

“These individuals are responsible for bringing large quantities of illegal and deadly drugs to the streets of Youngstown,” said Stephen D. Anthony, the agent in charge of the Cleveland FBI office.

“The collaborative effort between law-enforcement agencies throughout this two-year investigation has been exceptional, and we will continue to work together to make our cities safer,” he added.

The indictment alleges the five men knowingly conspired to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and cocaine base (crack cocaine) between July 2013 and July 23, 2015.

Williams supplied heroin and crack cocaine to Brown, Mascarella, Hollis, Bunkley and others for distribution in the Youngstown area, the U.S. Attorney said. It was part of the conspiracy that Brown supplied heroin and crack cocaine to Mascarella for distribution in the Youngstown area, according to the indictment.

It was further part of the conspiracy that cellphones, code words and phrases were used by the co-conspirators to facilitate their drug-trafficking activities, the U.S. attorney said.

The case is being prosecuted by the Youngstown-based assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason M. Katz and David M. Toepfer. The FBI and the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, which includes officers from the Boardman Police Department and Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, conducted the investigation preceding the indictment.