Youngstown police detain driver without license for lying about gun hidden in car
Youngstown police officers pulled a vehicle over for a faulty license plate light around 3 a.m. last Saturday.
Instead of just the citation for the lack of illumination on the license plate, police issued two citations for disorderly conduct and a firearms violation.
Police reports say two YPD officers pulled a black Lincoln MXS over at West Commerce and North Hazel Streets in Youngstown and talked to the driver.
When police approached the driver and asked for his identification, he refused, according to police reports.
The officers asked him if there were any firearms in the car, which he denied several times.
Reports say the officers saw the driver reach underneath the seat.
Police asked the driver to exit the vehicle; reports say it was because he didn’t give them any identification.
The passenger, who was a minor, told police it was her car.
The driver got out, but the passenger sitting in the back didn’t listen to police officers’ requests, according to their reports.
YPD police reports say the passenger was intoxicated and refused to get out.
Eventually, they had to “remove her from the auto,” reports say.
She received a citation for disorderly conduct and must appear at Mahoning County Juvenile Court.
Police ran the driver’s name through their database, which showed his driver’s license had been suspended.
Inside the car, police reports say the officers found two loaded 5.56 mm magazines underneath the driver’s seat.
They also found a black and purple Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 rifle.
Police found the rifle in a hidden compartment close to where the passenger who’d refused to get out was sitting.
“In between the two rear passenger seats...was a compartment that was shut that leads to the trunk space,” reports say.
Inside the trunk close to the compartment, police were able to find the rifle and an upper receiver to an AR-style rifle.
The man was arrested for not being truthful with police about the gun in his car.
Reports say he answered ’no’ multiple times when being asked by police if there were any guns inside the vehicle.
Officers detained him, according to reports; eventually, he told police the gun was his.
Police officers cited him for improperly handling firearms in a car, and he appeared Wednesday at Youngstown Municipal Court.
Reports say the car was towed, while the gun was taken back to the police department as evidence.
According to police reports, it was not stolen.
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