Man involved in fatal crash in jail on drug charges

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force arrested a man Friday on drug trafficking charges whose home Canfield police searched last year.

A Mahoning County grand jury secretly indicted Michael Malvasi Jr., 27, of Timber Run Drive on felony charges of trafficking in hashish and possession of hashish.

He was booked Friday into the Mahoning County jail.

Canfield police served a warrant at Malvasi’s home in August 2017.

Detective Lt. Brian McGivern said police recovered evidence that suggested THC was being extracted from marijuana.

At the time, he said it was pounds of marijuana, not a small amount.

Malvasi also was involved in a fatal November crash under investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

An SUV registered to Malvasi went off the road after failing to negotiate a curve, hit a tree and overturned, killing 23-year-old Ryan Lanzo.

Investigators have not determined who was driving at the time of the crash.

Lanzo was dropped off at an urgent-care facility in Austintown.

A passerby made the only call to the police.

In the 911 call, she said she saw two cars on Shields Road and someone on the ground. The Mahoning County Sheriff’s office, which answered the call, found only a wrecked Mercedes Benz SUV.

In 2009, Malvasi’s Timber Run Drive home was the scene of a brawl involving 10 adults and four juveniles that the family’s security cameras captured.

Malvasi, then 18, pulled up behind Dominic Jackett, then 18, of Youngstown, honked his horn signalling for Jackett to move and then exited the vehicle and struck Jackett in the face, according to Vindicator files.

The group showed up at Malvasi’s home a half-hour later.

Malvasi pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for hitting Jackett and received $500 in fines and 40 hours of community service.

In 2011, Michael Malvasi Sr., also of Timber Run Drive, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of tax evasion related to income from a skilled gaming business.

He served four months in prison.