Cops find guns, 38 bags of pot after chase

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A man was arraigned in municipal court Monday after police said they found 38 bags of marijuana and two guns during a chase last week.

Marco Hammond, 29, of Seneca Avenue, is in the Mahoning County jail after being arraigned before Judge Elizabeth Kobly on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, carrying concealed weapons, trafficking in drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. Judge Kobly set his bond at $50,000.

Reports said Hammond was taken into custody Wednesday after an officer spotted him pulling out of a parking lot at high speed about 12:05 a.m. in the 2400 block of Oak Street Extension. Hammond led police on a short chase until they came to the 3500 block of McGuffey Road, where reports said he abandoned his car and ran away before he was caught by an officer.

In the yard where he was caught police found a loaded .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

After his car was hooked up to be towed police found 38 bags of marijuana inside.

Hammond is barred from owning a firearm because of an aggravated burglary conviction in 2005 and a trafficking in marijuana conviction in 2012.