43
Man arrested after police chase
YOUNGSTOWN
Police arrested a 23-year-old East Philadelphia Avenue man Wednesday evening after they chased the car he was driving over numerous South Side streets and caught him after a foot pursuit.
But, as of Thursday afternoon, the only charges shown against him on the municipal court docket were failure to obey traffic control devices and driving under license suspension.
Officer Jacob Short initiated a traffic stop after he reported seeing the car driven by Vernon W. Johnson Jr. run a stop sign at Market Street and West Ravenwood Avenue.
As the officer returned to his cruiser to call for a backup officer, the driver reportedly sped away, running several more stop signs and going the wrong way on Cooper Street, which is one-way eastbound.
At Erie Street and Ravenwood Avenue, Johnson slammed on the brakes, and he and a male passenger, who remains at large, fled on foot, police said.
Police arrested Johnson after finding him curled up on the ground between two vehicles in a driveway in the 3600 block of Erie Street.
Police said they seized from his back pants pocket a digital scale with white residue on it, which Johnson reportedly said he only used for marijuana.
Police called an ambulance to take Johnson to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital after observing him “sweating profusely and seemingly out of breath” after Johnson told them he had swallowed some pills.
Johnson told paramedics he had swallowed about seven Xanax pills before his arrest, the police report said.
Mahoning County jail records show Johnson was booked into the lockup Thursday on charges of driving under suspension, possessing drug paraphernalia, obstructing official business and fleeing police.