Youngstown man indicted in attempted Liberty bank robbery

WARREN — A Trumbull County grand jury indicted a man today who attempted to rob the Home Savings Bank in Liberty while armed last month.

Dabraylin Hawkins was shot by a police officer before he could take any money or harm any customers.

Hawkins, 23, of Youngstown, faces charges of aggravated robbery with firearm specifications, felonious assault with firearm specifications, tampering with evidence and carrying a concealed weapon.

If convicted, Hawkins could face about 24 years in prison.

Hawkins also faces federal charges from the incident. According to a federal complaint filed last month, investigators reviewed security footage revealing that Hawkins fired one gunshot into the ceiling of Home Savings, and then pointed the gun at the bank tellers.

George Bednar, the township police officer working as a security officer while off duty, shot Hawkins, who fled the bank without taking any money, according to investigators. He was apprehended in the parking lot of Jimmy’s Italian Specialties on Belmont Avenue and taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for his injuries.

A 9 mm pistol was found in the bushes near the bank’s parking lot.

The complaint states Hawkins told investigators he walked from the East Side of Youngstown to try and rob the bank because he needed money.

The Youngstown Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force assisted the township police with the investigation. An agent with the Youngstown FBI brought the federal charge against Hawkins.

Hawkins is in the Trumbull County jail.