Man, 22, picks up third felony weapons charge

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A 22-year-old man who police said had two guns Saturday morning is facing his third felony weapons charge.

Key’Von Belcher, 22, of Detroit Avenue, was arraigned Monday in municipal court on charges of carrying concealed weapons and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is in the Mahoning County jail in lieu of more than $57,000 bond.

Reports said Belcher was a passenger in a car that officers tried to pull over about 12:30 a.m. Saturday on Cassius Avenue for speeding and an improper turn. Reports said Belcher jumped out and ran, and as an officer chased him on foot, the car Belcher was in backed up in the direction of a police cruiser and tried to ram it at least twice.

The officer in that cruiser chased the car but the chase was called off, reports said.

Belcher was caught behind a house in the 600 block of Cassius. Reports said there was a 9 mm handgun next to him, and police found a .380-caliber handgun in an area where he was seen throwing something.

Belcher served a sentence as a juvenile on aggravated robbery, kidnapping and carrying concealed weapon charges which bars him from owning a firearm. In April 2016, he was indicted on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle and carrying a concealed weapon.

Those charges were dismissed, and instead he pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing justice and was sentenced to probation, which was recommended by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

When asked at his arraignment by Magistrate Anthony Sertick how long his juvenile sentence was, Belcher said he was sentenced to detention for three years for those offenses.