D'aZahn Burkes

YOUNGS-TOWN — A troubled teen from the city’s North Side has been on the run since August, with both his family and the juvenile court looking for him.

But an expert says that just because D’aZahn Burkes is on the wrong side of the law doesn’t mean he is not in danger.

D’aZahn is 15 and has been away from home since mid-August, right about the time a Mahoning County Juvenile Court magistrate issued an order for his arrest on a charge of domestic violence, which violated his probation for a theft conviction in 2023.

His grandmother and legal guardian, Rosemary Anderson, said the boy is being manipulated by older men with bad intentions, and she said she just wants him to return safely, even if it’s to face legal consequences. She said she feels like nobody cares that her grandson is out there and living unsafely.

“Seems to me nobody’s doing nothing. That boy’s been gone too long, and I don’t have any help. I haven’t seen anybody do anything to get him yet,” she said. “I wish they’d put him back up on TV. He could be in danger. But these boys had him too long, and what they’re doing is putting him out there to make money.”

John E. Bischoff III, vice president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Missing Children Division, said cases like Da’zahn’s are much more common than the public may think.

“Every year we assist law enforcement and families in looking for about 30,000 children, and just about 92% of those are endangered runaways,” he said. “The public may think if the child is a runaway then it might be a bad home situation or they’re just a bad kid, or other misconceptions, and most all of these things are unequivocally false. In a majority of those cases, the child may have left on their own two feet but gone under false pretenses.”

A ROUGH START

Anderson said she has been the caretaker of her grandchildren since their mother died about seven years ago from a massive heart attack. Lucille Anderson had a previous heart attack that caused memory loss and stayed with her mother. When another heart attack hit, Anderson said Lucille needed her pacemaker repaired, but the doctors who attempted the surgery in Youngstown made a mistake and Lucille had to be taken to the Cleveland Clinic.

The damage was so bad that doctors there would not attempt to fix it. She died a few days later. After their mother’s death, the boys — Da’Zahn, who was 8 at the time, his brother Charlie Pullen Jr., and twin brothers, La’Kyng and Loyal — were left in limbo.

“His father didn’t want him,” Anderson said. “He had a girlfriend who died about the same time for the same reason. And she had two kids by him, and he kept them and didn’t want Da’Zahn.” So Anderson sought custody.

Since then, they’ve lived with Anderson at her Lexington Avenue home. Da’Zahn was attending Wilson Alternative School.

Anderson is 67 and suffers from chronic pain in her legs from two fractures that required pins. She also has asthma. So she collects a disability check, as well as payments for child care from Mahoning County Children Services, and the boys get food stamps. Her daughter and her siblings come to help as much as they can with the boys and household chores.

TROUBLE WITH TEENS

Anderson said the troubles with Da’Zahn began a few years ago, when some older kids — now men, she said — started coming to pick him up.

She said Da’Zahn was with those men on Aug. 5, 2023, when he was hospitalized after a police chase led to him crashing a stolen Kia into a wall downtown.

“He ran into a wall and almost killed himself. He didn’t know the car was stolen,” she said. “I didn’t even know the boy knew how to drive. I got a knock on my door and had to rush to the hospital. The police know me and came right to me.”

In December 2023, Da’Zahn was found delinquent in a plea agreement before Mahoning County Juvenile Court Magistrate Karen Romano Melone. He pleaded guilty to two felony counts of receiving stolen property, and an amended charge of failure to comply with the order of a police officer.

That document mentions that in Trumbull County, he also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property, theft and obstruction of police business.

In that case, the court found reasonable evidence that his remaining in the home would be against his best interests and placed him in the temporary custody of Mahoning County Children Services. Detention sentences ranging from 90 days to between six months and eight years were all suspended.

But on Aug. 13, 2024, the court issued an order for his arrest for violating his terms when he was charged with domestic violence.

This was two days after Youngstown police took the report from Anderson about Da’Zahn running away. That report states that she told police he attended on Tuesdays and Thursdays a mandatory program through the juvenile court called “Growing Healthy Growing Strong.”

She told police he would run away, get a ride to the program, come home, then immediately run away again. Anderson said Da’Zahn would run away to his girlfriend’s house in Struthers.

The following day, police found him at the home and told him to mind his grandmother. He has not been seen by Anderson or the court since.

SIGHTINGS

Anderson may not know where he is but that does not mean he is not in contact with his family. She said he talks to his older brother, Charles, on the phone but Charles will not say where he is.

She said her information suggests he mostly hangs out on the city’s West Side, but she knows he also frequents Butler, Pa.

“A boy who hangs out down there said he’s there,” Anderson said. “A year or two ago he was in Pennsylvania and he was brought back, and went to juvenile, and every time he comes back here, they just put him back out doing stuff he shouldn’t be doing.”

She said he is known to socialize at downtown businesses.

“I know he hangs out on the West Side and goes to the hookah bars downtown, and he’s seen in different bars,” she said. “They call my daughter when he’s seen in bars. … We know he’s there because other kids are calling to tell us.”

Anderson said she was told he was seen at a motel party in Boardman a few months ago. The exact date is unclear.

“Three people were there, and they got away. He was one of them,” she said. “Some got arrested; the girls had guns. The boys had guns.”

“WE NEED PEOPLE TO CARE”

Despite Da’Zahn’s troubles, Bischoff said he is still a child and belongs in the care of adults, be it his family or the court.

“It makes it challenging for law enforcement, because the child may be somewhat evading, but that’s really where it comes down to community support. If they see something they should report it, because this child is in danger, he said. “We need to get them the assistance they need to set the record straight. He has a family and a law enforcement community concerned about him, and he needs more of the community to be concerned as well.”

Bischoff said every case is unique, including Da’Zahn’s.

“Even though there’s an indication people know he is, where’s the child sleeping at night, how’s he surviving, how’s he eating, how’s he being taken care of?” Bischoff said. “How is this child surviving? None of us had the skills to properly survive at 14 or 15, nor should we be expected to. If you think of some of the ways he is surviving, it makes it even more important for us to get him home safe.”

He said the dangers runaways face are many, even if they’re away from home intentionally, and it can quickly turn into a situation they could never anticipate.

“In general, we see many risk factors for endangered runaways — substance abuse, online enticement, gang activity, human trafficking and medical issues,” he said.

Anderson said Da’Zahn is still injured to some extent from the car crash and needs more medical attention.

“He still has to have surgeries. For his legs and his nose and lips and teeth,” she said. “They told me his nose was growing crooked and it could stop him from breathing. But I can’t do anything because he’s not here.”

Da’Zahn’s profile and photo are listed on the NCMEC’s website, with a direct line to reach Youngstown police.

Bischoff said his agency is working with state and local law enforcement on the case and will continue to do so until Da’Zahn is returned safely.

Joe Nohra, the administrator for Mahoning County Juvenile Court, said staff there are following every lead as best they can.

“There’s very little we can do, although if the probation officer or court receive information, if there’s suspicion that he is somewhere, we check,” he said. “We’ve checked up on a few locations to no avail. We have checked to the greatest extent we can on those leads.”

Anderson said she is desperate to see her grandson again and will welcome any help.

“I just want them together and for them to understand I don’t want them out there doing bad stuff,” she said. “And I worry every day about him. I don’t ever want to get another call that he’s almost dead, or worse. Please. I need help to get him. I pray every day that somebody will help me bring him back.”

The number to reach Youngstown police is 330-747-7911. Da’Zahn’s probation officer, Alex Valentin, can be reached at 330-233-2295. And the NCMEC number is 1-800 843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST).