YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Police Wednesday seized three guns, arrested two people on gun charges, and cited a third.
At about 9:45 p.m. reports said officers pulled over a car driven by Anthony Thomas, 34, of Youngstown, at Hudson and Parkcliffe Avenues for an improper turn.
When asked, Thomas told police he had “two clips” of ammunition on him and police asked him out of the car, reports said. When Thomas got out, he pushed an officer who tried to handcuff him and ran away on Hudson Avenue.
Officers deployed their electronic stun weapons three different times but he was not stopped, reports said, He was eventually taken into custody in a back yard in the 400 block of Clearmount Avenue.
Inside the car police found a 9mm handgun in the glove box and Thomas had two loaded magazines of ammunition in his jacket pocket, reports said. Thomas admitted he had the gun and was taking it to a relative’s house, reports said.
He was booked into the Mahoning County jail on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and obstructing official business.
Thomas is not allowed to have a gun because of a 2010 conviction in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for felonious assault. Court records show he was sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2014, Thomas was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and pleaded guilty. Court records show he was sentenced to six months in the Mahoning County jail.
About 5:05 p.m., officers who were writing a traffic citation on Glenwood Avenue saw a car drive past them at a high rate of speed and using the center lane to pass other cars. The officers abandoned the citation and went to pull the car over, which reports said was driven by Nickoli Williams, 28, of Boardman.
The car pulled into a drive at the corner of Mercer Street and Glenwood Avenue and when asked why he was driving so recklessly, Williams replied, “I guess I’m just an idiot,” reports said.
Reports said Williams had a gun in the car and police found a loaded. 40-caliber handgun inside. Williams has a suspended conceal/carry permit because he had a protection order against him, reports said.
Williams told police the permit should have been reinstated but officers could find no evidence of that. He was booked into the jail on charges of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and reckless operation.
About 4:35 p.m., rep[orts said police pulled over for having an expired registration and searched the car after smelling marijuana inside. Reports said police found a loaded 9mm handgun in the trunk with the serial number scratched off.
A passenger, Artell Richardson, admitted the gun was his, reports said. He was issued a citation for improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle and released at the scene.
All three men are expected to be arraigned Friday in municipal court.
