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Man indicted on gun, other charges in run from police

YOUNGSTOWN — Tawhon W. Easterly, 41, of Manhattan Avenue, who police said shot at a Youngstown police officer March 21 as he fled from a store on the North Side, has been indicted on several charges.

The charges are being a felon in possession of a firearm, intimidation, obstructing official business, burglary with a notice of prior conviction specification and tampering with evidence. The possession, intimidation and obstructing charges each carry a 54-month gun specification.

Easterly originally was charged with felonious assault on a police officer, but the grand jury did not indict him on that. It did, however, increase another charge from trespassing to burglary.

Prosecutors recently asked Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to revoke Easterly’s bond and order him held in the county jail without eligibility to make bond. She has not yet ruled on the motion.

A Youngstown police report states that at 4:27 p.m. March 20, an officer saw a man running with a gun from the area of the Dollar General store, 1370 Belmont Ave. While the officer chased the man, later identified as Easterly, he “fired several shots from a handgun,” the report states.

Officers “gave chase and apprehended Easterly” at a house in the 600 block of Oxford Avenue, the report states. The distance from the store to the house is about three blocks.

A Youngstown police news release stated that when the officer saw Easterly with a gun, he “ordered (Easterly) to stop and drop the gun.” Easterly ran, and the officer pursued him, ordering Easterly numerous times to drop the gun. Shortly into the chase, Easterly fired several rounds at the officer before breaking into a house on Oxford Street to hide, the news release states.

Officers were able to call out Easterly from the elderly homeowner’s residence a short time later without further incident.

The other victim in the case is a woman, 83, whose house Easterly is alleged to have broken into, according to court documents. Easterly was in her home about 20 minutes.

“In 2002, (Easterly) was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and three counts of felonious assault, all with firearm specifications, for a 1998 shooting that left an 18-year-old dead and three others wounded,” a filing in the case states. Easterly was sentenced to nine years in prison and was released in January 2009.

The filing lists several other Easterly convictions, including a federal weapons offense that sent him to federal prison for five years.

Others indicted are:

• Elizabeth R. Warner, 26, Mahoning County jail, child endangering;

• Corey W. Douglas, 32, Johnson Road, Beloit, child endangering;

• Robert G. Grier, 51, Southern Boulevard, cocaine possession;

• Peter S. Barta, 49, Silica Road, North Jackson, aggravated drug possession and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia;

• Daniel J. Mastroianni, 25, Glamorgan Street, Alliance, marijuana possession;

• Yanal A. Hamilton, 25, Oakland, Calif., marijuana possession;

• Ian D. Thomas, 31, Mahoning County jail, being a felon in possession of a firearm;

• Tyler J. Verhest, 22, Neilson Avenue, being a felon in possession of a firearm, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, fentanyl-related compound possession, drug possession and tampering with evidence;

• Anthony G. Biggs, 32, South Portland Avenue, being a felon in possession of a firearm, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, and two counts of violating a protection order with a one year gun specification.

• Kevin R. James III, 22, East Lucius Avenue, falsification.

• Daniero T. Phifer, 21, Helena Avenue, Boardman, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.

• Annexie R. Acevedo, 18, East Avondale Avenue, improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone with a three-year gun specification, felonious assault with a three-year gun specification, being a felon in possession of a firearm and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.

• Lewer F. Dent III, 33, Cook Avenue, Boardman, falsification and possessing drug abuse instruments.

• Ricky L. Evans, 50, 12th Street, Campbell, three counts of operating a motor vehicle under the influence with a specification of additional prison term for certain repeat OVI offenders; aggravated drug possession, cocaine possession, and two counts of driving under an OVI suspension.

• Brendan M. Rozier, 34, West Evergreen Avenue, cocaine possession, obstructing official business and disorderly conduct.

• James P. Corso, 65, Summit Street, Niles, cocaine possession and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

The grand jury refused to indict Aaron Kuti on domestic violence.

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