Man reports car stolen, actually crashed it in Boardman

BOARDMAN — Township police said a man who reported his vehicle stolen this morning actually crashed the vehicle while intoxicated.

Police were sent to a Brookwood Road residence early this morning for a stolen auto report, according to a police report. Melvin Bryant, 25, told police his vehicle had been stolen from the Red Lobster parking lot.

A vehicle matching his description and containing his driver’s license, however, was found in the woods near Brookwood and Glenwood Avenue.

Police reported smelling alcohol on Bryant and said he changed his story multiple times. He then “admitted that he was driving the vehicle and crashed.”

“He said he is not insured and he had been driving drunk, so he thought it would be easier to report the vehicle stolen,” the report states.

A test found Bryant’s blood-alcohol concentration was .229. The legal limit for drivers to be declared intoxicated in Ohio is .08.

Bryant faces two operating a vehicle while intoxicated charges and was cited for failure to control, according to court records.

He is scheduled to appear for a hearing Tuesday in Mahoning County Area Court.