Fugitive standoff prompts ‘soft’ lockdown for Austintown schools

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

U.S. Marshals on Wednesday arrested a Pennsylvania fugitive who barricaded himself inside a Hillbrook Apartments home along South Raccoon Road.

The standoff, which authorities said lasted about a half-hour, prompted a brief “soft” lockdown of all four Austintown school buildings about 2 p.m.

Harrisburg, Pa., authorities issued an arrest warrant for Maurice Ross, 37, on cocaine-trafficking charges and a drug-related parole violation, Marshals deputy Anne Murphy said.

Marshals tracked Ross to Austintown and the Hillbrook Apartments, where he reportedly refused to come to the door and meet officers. That “raised the stakes” and brought other local law enforcement to the scene, she said.

The apartment complex is near the school campus, but there was no threat to students as the fugitive was not on campus grounds, spokeswoman Brittany Bueno said. Marshals blocked off a portion of nearby Davis Drive, schools Superintendent Vince Colaluca said.

The lockdown was lifted about 2:30 p.m., after Ross surrendered and was arrested. He was set to be booked into the Mahoning County jail Wednesday evening.

Dismissal times were unaffected, Bueno said. Colaluca said during a “soft” lockdown, classes continue as normal, but students do not travel between classrooms or go outside the building for recess or dismissal. During a full lockdown, students shelter in place, he said.

“It was a great job by the Austintown police and U.S. Marshals,” Colaluca said.