Operation Red-Zone will target illegal gun possessions this weekend

YOUNGSTOWN — If you're carrying a gun you're legally not allowed to have due to past convictions, the U.S. Attorney's office has some Labor Day weekend advice: Stay out of Youngstown.

And Canton and Toledo, as well.

Through Operation Red-Zone, which gets underway this weekend in those cities, firearms disability violators will face stiffer federal charges, officials said.

U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said those busted for illegal firearms during Operation Red-Zone could be prosecuted in federal court and face up to 10 years in the Federal Correctional Institution in Victorville, Calif.

On the list of potential targets is anyone with a prior felony conviction, misdemeanor conviction or any other conviction that disqualifies them from possessing a gun.

"They know who they are," Herdman said. "If they are in the red zone, and carrying a firearm in the city Youngstown, they are going to be prosecuted."

Operation Red-Zone will not take up additional resources or assets of the city, Herdman said. Youngstown Police Department officers and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigations and U.S. Marshals who live in the city will be working together.

"To the residents, it comes down to all of us," Herdman said. "We care deeply about your safety and security. We are here to ensure you are protected."

"We need to prosecute these people, put them in jail and have them know that there's a penalty for going out there and plaguing this community with gun violence," Youngstown Police Department Chief Robin Lees said.

Daniel Ball, public information officer for the Northern District of Ohio U.S. Attorney's Office, said there has been an increase in crime in the region in the spring and summer this year, and Labor Day weekend can bring an increase in violence.

Lees said comparing murders in 2020 and 2019, it is clear how serious the issue of gun violence is in the city. There have been 19 murders in the city so far this year and 20 murders in all of last year. Almost all of those cases involved a gun, he said.

He said the focus for law enforcement has been data-driven, which means they are looking at areas where crimes are occurring and under what circumstances.

"Our officers put themselves in harm's way to deal with felonies," Lees said. "In order to make these arrests, these cases have to be taken seriously. They have to be prosecuted for it."

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and Lees said they have worked with Gov. Mike DeWine's office to make sure that no matter where someone lives in the city of Youngstown, they feel safe.

"We're going to make sure that those who can and should not possess firearms will be dealt with appropriately," Brown said.

While DeWine told reporters Thursday neither he nor his administration was contacted by federal officials for the three-city Operation Red-Zone, he was "happy to see" federal prosecutors make gun enforcement a priority in the state.

"Our law today in Ohio is not nearly as tough as [federal law]," which leads county prosecuting attorneys to rely on their federal counterparts to get heavier sentences for offenders who were previously prohibited from owning or possessing guns, the governor said.

A state gun control package proposed by DeWine and introduced in the Ohio Senate in October would allow courts to "get tougher" on gun violence offenders and strengthen penalties for illegal firearm possession and for knowingly giving a firearm to a minor or someone who's otherwise legally prohibited from owning a firearm.

However, Senate Bill 221 is still languishing in the Senate's Government Oversight and Reform Committee. Its last public hearing was Dec. 3.

Lees, who in November testified in favor of the bill, said his department has worked with federal prosecutors "to get meaningful sentencing" for offenders who qualify for federal gun prosecution.

"We have a real problem with conventional gun violence," he told the committee.

Lees cited a 2019 news article on two offenders who received probation for illegally possessing firearms.

"This is intolerable. … Seriously, why are we forced to run to the federal government or burden the U.S. Attorney? The current penalties under Ohio law are not doing the job. A common statement made by gun-toting criminals in Youngstown is, 'I would rather be caught with [a gun] than without it.'"

This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 5:22 AM with the headline "Operation Red-Zone will target illegal gun possessions this weekend."