Sykes loses appeal of Boardman police search that put him in prison

YOUNGSTOWN

A man serving a prison term on charges of trafficking in heroin and trafficking in fentanyl lost an appeal Wednesday on the search that landed him in prison.

The Seventh District Court Of Appeals ruled against Leonard Sykes, 43, who appealed his convictions on the grounds that a search by Boardman police that discovered the drugs violated that department’s policy for searching towed vehicles as well as his Fourth Amendment rights against unnecessary or unlawful searches.

Sykes asked for the search to be suppressed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, but Judge Lou A. D’Apolito ruled against him. He then entered a no-contest plea Nov. 28, 2017, and was found guilty and sentenced to prison, after he lost the suppression motion.

Sykes was charged after he was pulled over Jan. 14, 2017, on U.S. Route 224 for speeding. The officer smelled marijuana coming from the car, and Sykes also had bloodshot eyes and admitted smoking marijuana. That gave the officer probable cause to search the car. As the car was being searched, police learned Sykes has numerous suspensions on his driver’s license and was not allowed to drive.

The probable-cause search found nothing illegal, but police decided to have the car towed because Sykes is not allowed to drive.

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.