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Canfield man indicted on weapons charge

YOUNGSTOWN — A Canfield Township man is facing a federal weapons charge following an investigation into the apparently accidental stray-bullet shooting of a boy, 6, last August.

Michael Soles, 48, of Orchard Hill Drive was indicted Nov. 10 and arrested and arraigned in federal court Nov. 23 on possession of a machine gun.

His indictment states Soles knowingly possessed an unregistered STEN Model MK5 machine gun Aug. 26, 2020, in violation of federal law.

Soles is not charged in connection with an Aug. 23, 2020, incident in which a boy, 6, was hit in the arm by a bullet while playing in a driveway with other children on Orchard Park Drive in Canfield Township. But detectives with the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office investigated the shooting, which led them to Soles’ home on Orchard Hill Drive and weapons in his home, Sheriff Jerry Greene said. One of those weapons was turned over to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The investigation into the boy’s shooting is ongoing, Greene said.

Soles’ home and the location where the shooting occurred are north of Canfield.

Soles was released from custody on $20,000 bond the same day he was arraigned by Magistrate Carmen Henderson in U.S. District Court. Soles is not allowed to obtain a passport or other international travel document while on bond.

He also must undergo a mental health assessment and / or counseling as directed by the federal court’s pretrial services division. He also is ordered not to possess a firearm, destructive device or other weapon.

Also, he is to participate in a program of inpatient or outpatient substance abuse therapy and counseling if deemed necessary by the pretrial services division.

The shooting of the boy was one of two incidents the same day that apparently involved stray bullets. The two locations are about a half-block apart.

A deputy went to a home in the 7000 block of Barrington Drive Aug. 23 to investigate a bullet that hit a home.

The homeowners heard a loud noise. Later, their son went to his room and noticed the TV had been struck by a bullet. The bullet traveled through the rear of the house through an upstairs window in the son’s bedroom.

The deputy left that location at about 7 p.m. when he received the call regarding the boy being shot in the upper arm.

The boy was standing outside in the neighbor’s driveway playing with other children when a neighbor heard a “snapping kind of sound” and noticed “a whizzing sound go by.” At the same time, the child grabbed his arm.

A witness told investigators he or she believed the gunshot came from woods behind the house.

erunyan@tribtoday.com

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