Teen arraigned on charge of bringing knife blade to school

YOUNGSTOWN — A Potomac Avenue teen was released on his own recognizance today after he was arraigned in municipal court for having a knife blade Tuesday at Mahoning County High School.

Germaine Flakes Jr., 18, spent Tuesday evening in jail on a charge of illegal conveyance of a weapon into a school zone, a felony. He was arrested just before 8 a.m. Tuesday after a county deputy working security at the 940 Bryn Mawr Drive school on the East Side found the blade of a knife in Flakes’ backpack while doing a search of bags at the school.

Reports said Flakes told the deputy he forgot he had the blade in his backpack, and he used it to cut the braids in his hair. He has no prior criminal record, prosecutors said.