Man arrested on drug charges previously served time for police shooting

Driver previously served time in shooting of Austintown police officer

Staff report

BOARDMAN

A man township police arrested Wednesday night on drug charges had served time in prison for shooting an Austintown police officer in 2007.

Boardman police stopped Carlton Sims, 32, of Glenbrook Road, about 7 p.m. Wednesday for speeding on Glenwood Avenue, according to a police report.

After seeing a scale in the vehicle, an officer searched Sims, reportedly finding a pill bottle in his pants pocket. The officer found three individually-wrapped bags containing drugs, according to the report. The officer also found a spoon with suspected drug residue on it.

A field test concluded that two of the bags contained heroin, while results on the contents of the third bag were inconclusive.

Sims was arrested on charges of felony drug trafficking and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. He also was cited for driving under suspension.

Sims pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Mahoning County Area Court on Thursday. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 14.

Records indicate that Sims was sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to seven years in prison, with credit for 409 days granted, in 2008 for attempted aggravated murder with a firearm specification.

The charges stem from a May 8, 2007, shooting of an Austintown police officer. The officer, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, survived. The shooting took place in the parking lot of a Mahoning Avenue Kmart.

The Vindicator reported at the time of Sims’ sentencing that police believed his motive was robbery.