Police probe cases of gunplay

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

One man was wounded, and another man was arrested.

YOUNGSTOWN — Police continue their investigation into several incidents involving gunplay in the city with one man suffering a bullet wound to the leg.

Terrance Howell, 19, of West Marion Avenue, told police he was standing in the front lawn of a home in the 1400 block of Woodcrest Avenue on the East Side at 9:45 p.m. Thursday when a burgundy-and-gray Buick Regal drove by with its occupants firing gunshots at him and his friends.

Howell was shot once in the calf and taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center for treatment.

Police found three .40-caliber shell casings near the house where Howell had been standing.

Police arrested Dominick DeFrank, 37, of Florist Street and charged him with carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, and aggravated menacing, a misdemeanor, after a gun-related incident on the city’s West Side just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Police said a 52-year-old city man got off a city bus at Schenley and Mahoning avenues and was approached by DeFrank. DeFrank mumbled something to the man and then pulled a gun from his waistband and made reference to shooting the man, police said.

The 52-year-old told police he went into a nearby store, where police were called. When officers arrived, DeFrank was standing in the store and was taken into police custody after a brief struggle with officers.

DeFrank was arraigned Friday before Judge Robert P. Milich of Youngstown Municipal Court and asked the judge to make his bond affordable so he could continue to attend school.

Prosecutors said DeFrank has a criminal history that includes receiving stolen property, felonious assault, domestic violence and carrying a concealed weapon.

The judge set DeFrank’s bond at $60,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the man he is accused of threatening.

Police are also looking for the two people responsible for shooting at a 32-year-old man on Market Street just before midnight Thursday.

The man told police he was in his car in the 1600 block of Market when the two men shot at him from another car. Officers found a spent shell casing and a bullet fragment near the car. No one was injured.

jgoodwin@vindy.com