Police find large amounts of pills, marijuana during traffic stops

January 20, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

A man on probation for drug charges, who police said was caught trying to flush drugs down the toilet of a South Side restaurant, is one of three people arrested over the weekend who had large quantities of drugs on them.

Lewer Dent, 27, of Boardman, was arraigned in municipal court Tuesday before Judge Elizabeth Kobly on a charge of criminal trespass and a warrant, after he was found about 7:45 p.m. Saturday in the restroom of a 2841 Market St. restaurant. Reports said he ran away from officer Jessica Shields in the parking lot and was trying to flush drugs down the toilet.

When he was caught, reports said he had 76 pills he did not get to flush.

Shields spotted Dent in a car in the parking lot with no front license plate, and she also knew there was a warrant for Dent’s arrest, reports said. Reports said when Dent saw Shields, he ran inside the restaurant and Shields chased him and followed him into the restroom. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail after he was arrested.

Dent’s bond was set at $2,500.

In April, police found a bag of heroin, a bag of crack cocaine and 160 pills on Dent during a traffic stop on the South Side. He pleaded guilty in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to three fifth-degree felony charges of possession of heroin, possession of cocaine and possession of drugs and was sentenced to five years’ probation.

Also Saturday, about 11:30 p.m., Benjamin Mayes, 35, of West Woodland Avenue, was arrested on a charge of trafficking in marijuana after he was spotted about 11:30 p.m. by vice squad officers Mike Quinn and Jimmy Hughes Jr. running three-straight stop signs on West Delason Avenue. Reports said after he was pulled over, he looked very nervous and denied having anything illegal. Reports said Mayes also told police he did not have a driver’s license or insurance, and he was asked to step out of his car because he would face a charge of driving with no license.

When an officer went to search him, reports said Mayes told police he had something in his sleeve. Inside his sleeve they found a large bag that had 19 bags of suspected marijuana and 12 plastic containers of suspected marijuana. He also was taken to the jail. His bond was set at $5,000.

A records check found that Mayes’ driver’s license expired in 2000 and was never renewed, reports said.

About 12:05 a.m. Sunday, Amanda Bump, 33, of Butler, Pa., was arrested on a charge of possession of drugs and having a suspended license after she was spotted by officer Marcin Stachowicz failing to signal while changing lanes on East Midlothian Boulevard.

Reports said records showed Bump’s license is suspended in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and she kept putting things in her purse when talking to Stachowicz. She was taken out of her car for the suspended license and searched, and Stachowicz found 20 Methadone pills in her purse and $495 cash, reports said. Reports said she told police she needed the pills so she would not get sick, but she did not have a prescription.

She also was taken to the jail. Her bond was set at $5,000.