High-speed chase leads cops past school bus, through yards

YOUNGSTOWN — A city man is being held in the Mahoning County jail on $300,000 bond after leading police on a high speed chase then brandishing a handgun.

Gerald Womack Jr., 27, of Clarencedale Avenue, appeared this morning before Youngstown Municipal Judge Robert Douglas on felony charges of fleeing and eluding, receiving stolen property for the car he was driving, receiving stolen property for a gun he was carrying and carrying a concealed weapon.

Womack did not enter a plea. He was given a $300,000 bond and is still in the jail.

According to police reports, offices spotted Womack driving a green Chevrolet with customized attributes including Philadelphia Eagles symbols. The car was determined to have been stolen.

Officers attempted to pull the car over on Judson Avenue, but reports say Womack took off at a high rate of speed over curbs and through front yards with officers chasing him.

The car chase, reports say, continued down Hillman Street, onto Southern Boulevard and eventually onto Florida Avenue with Womack driving erratically the entire time. Police backed off of the chase as Womack neared a school bus dropping off kids on Judson Avenue, but Womack continued driving past the bus at high speed.

The car began to blow black smoke out of the exhaust and Womack jumped out of the car and ran through backyards, pointing a handgun at officers chasing him.

Womack was discovered hiding under a porch in the 300 block of Cornell Avenue. The gun was found on the opposite side of a nearby fence. The gun had been stolen from a local gun shop, police said.