Man gets three years for weapon, assault

YOUNGSTOWN — A 20-year-old man today was sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to three years in prison after he entered guilty pleas in two separate cases to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and felonious assault.

Juwuan Howell has already served about 14 months in the county jail while awaiting the resolution of the cases.

The sentence was handed down by Judge John Durkin, who upheld a recommendation by prosecutors and defense attorneys in the case.

Howell was arrested in August 2017 after a car he was driving was stopped in the middle of the street. Inside, police found a loaded 9mm handgun.

Later, he was charged with felonious assault for beating another man.