Warren bail bondsman has court hearing this afternoon

WARREN — Bail bondsman Stephen A. Simpson, 40, of Dunstan Drive Northwest will be arraigned this afternoon in Warren Municipal Court on charges of felonious assault and discharging firearms in the city limits after he allegedly shot out a tire Thursday in front of the Dollar Tree in the Trumbull Plaza.

Police were called to the plaza, 2505 Parkman Road NW, at 4:11 p.m. for shots fired, then got a call from Simpson, saying he had shot out the tire on a car of a woman he was trying to arrest.

Police said Simpson, who works for Around the Clock Bail Bonds, told them he warned the woman not to leave or he would shoot out her tire. She refused to exit the vehicle, so he shot the tire.

A witness said a woman's car was parked near the Dollar Tree entrance doors. Two men tried to arrest the woman, but she drove off, and one of the men shot out the front driver's tire as she drove away, flattening it.

Police recovered a spent shell casing at the scene, and a store clerk told police the man fired the shot while there were kids on bicycles "in the immediate area."

Simpson drove to the police station to talk to officers. After interviewing Simpson, officers charged him and took him to the Trumbull County jail.

Police later learned a green Ford Escape with a flattened front driver's tire was found abandoned in a driveway on Solar Drive Northwest near the plaza. A 911 caller said a woman got out of the car and fled on foot.

Police recovered Simpson's weapon. The ammunition matched the shell casing found at the scene, police said.