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Three arrested in raid on West Side home
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
All day Friday the words “Mona Lane” were being heard through the halls and courtrooms of municipal court, Judge Elizabeth Kobly said.
She made her remarks after she arraigned the last of five people either cited or arrested after members of the vice squad served a search warrant Thursday at a 534 Mona Lane home investigating drug activity.
“This address has appeared before me all day today,” Judge Kobly said.
Three people were arrested, and two others were issued misdemeanor citations. Inside the house, police found a bag of suspected crack cocaine, burnt spoons, a digital scale, four needles, a suboxone strip, and $2,663 in cash.
Reports said the rock of suspected crack cocaine belonged to Brandon Perry, 25, of Dearborn Avenue. As officers entered the house about 3:40 p.m. reports said Perry put the bag of cocaine in his mouth and was ordered to spit it out. Reports said he got on the floor and complied.
Perry was arraigned on a charge of possession of cocaine Friday and his bond was set at $5,000. City Prosecutor Dana Lantz told Judge Kobly that Perry has a pending drug-trafficking charge that was bound over to a Mahoning County grand jury but has yet to be presented.
Arrested on a traffic warrant was William Brewer, 31, of North Bon Air Avenue. His bond was set at 10 percent of $2,000 on the traffic charge, and he also received a bond of 10 percent of $3,000 for charges of possession of a drug-abuse instrument and possession of drugs.
Arrested on a charge of possession of drug-abuse instrument was Joshua Scofinsky, 30, who lists the home as his address. He pleaded guilty because he said he wanted to get the case out of the way so he could deal with charges he is facing in Trumbull County then go to drug treatment when he is done serving his sentence.
Scofinsky said he no longer will stay at the home.
“I’m not going back,” Scofinsky said.
Scofinsky said he is addicted to opiates. When Judge Kobly asked him why he started, Scofinsky said he was prescribed opiates for a medical condition and became addicted to them.
He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and given 18 months’ probation. If he fails any part of his probation, an additional 60 days will be imposed, the judge said.
Arraigned earlier on citations for a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charge was Stephani Moreland, 27, who lists the home as her address, and Joshua Kosa, 33, who was arraigned for possession of drugs and also lists the home as his address. Both were given court dates and released on their own recognizance.