YOUNGSTOWN — As promised, the Youngstown Police Department carried out its “zero-tolerance” of underage drinking and other alcohol violations, loitering and nuisance abatement downtown over the weekend, filing lots of charges and hauling lots of people to jail.

The crackdown followed a news conference last week by city officials, including Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, who said, “Our strategic plan is to ensure the safety and well-being of all who travel downtown.”

Brown and police Chief Carl Davis specifically mentioned The Social and the Circle Hookah and Bar as two downtown trouble spots. Both locations were mentioned in police reports. Davis said he’s been forced to reassign police officers to downtown because of the problems.

ROUNDUP OF ROWDINESS

At 9:50 p.m. Friday, officers near Wick Avenue and West Federal Street saw a Mercedes-Benz with excessively dark window tint, “completely obstructing our view inside of the vehicle.”

A passenger in the car was charged with a drug offense after officers saw a pill bottle containing white pills near her purse.

They also charged the male driver with a drug offense and cited him for an improper window tint after police found a Buprenorphine Naloxone strip in a binder in the trunk containing credit cards with his name on them and also found more strips in his back pocket, the report states.

He said he had a prescription for the drug, but he could not provide documentation. He and the woman were arrested and the car was towed.

At 11:40 p.m. Friday, officers pulled over a car driving across the center line at Walnut and East Commerce streets. Officers smelled marijuana and had a police dog conduct an exterior sniff of the vehicle. But before that happened, an officer saw a handgun between the front seat and the console.

A passenger was arrested on a charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. The driver was cited for a traffic violation and was charged with improper handling of firearms in a motor vehicle after he was heard on a cellphone telling others that police had found his gun, the report states. The vehicle was towed.

At 10:57 p.m. Friday, officers pulled over a car with heavy window tint on East Commerce Street. It pulled into the parking lot of the Hookah Bar, 116 W. Federal St.

Officers got permission to check the vehicle and found a bottle of alcohol at the driver’s feet, next to her purse, and she was charged with having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor. The woman and a male passenger said they had both come downtown to go to the Social and Hookah Bar to develop content for their social media pages on the internet, a police report states.

At 10:16 p.m. Friday, officers saw a car with excessive front window tint drive fail to make a complete stop at a stop sign at Hazel Street at West Commerce Street. The driver gave police consent to search the vehicle, and an open bottle of beer was found, the police report states.

He was cited for an open container violation.

At 2:09 a.m. Sunday, officers were near the parking lot of the Hookah Bar at closing time when officers saw women dancing on the top of a Dodge Durango in the lot. As officers approached, they smelled burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. They made contact with the driver of the vehicle, who was under 21 and smoking marijuana. The man was charged with marijuana possession. Officers also found an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the car. A woman admitted to the container being hers, and she was charged with possessing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, the report states.

At 2 a.m. Sunday, an officer saw a vehicle occupied by three men in the area of 121 W. Commerce St., who were “actively sitting in the Chevrolet listening to music while dancing as if they were at the club, which is a violation” of state law, the report states.

The officers informed the men the parking lot was owned by the city and informed them of the posted signs about loitering. All of them were asked to provide their information. Two provided it. The third man refused and told officers to arrest him, which they did.

He was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespassing and misdemeanor failure to disclose personal information. He was taken to the Mahoning County jail. Deputies at the jail determined his identity, the report states. The two others were released at the scene.

At 1:18 a.m. Sunday, officers saw a vehicle leave the parking lot next to the Social bar and drive past officers at Commerce Street and Wick Avenue downtown. Officers determined that the registration on the vehicle was expired, and a traffic stop was made.

There were four people in the car, and one of them was a juvenile. All of them appeared to be “extremely nervous,” the report states. They said they were coming from the Social bar, despite being under age 21. The driver said she had a temporary driving permit and was unable to provide proof of insurance or registration, the report states.

Officers asked all of the occupants to step out of the vehicle, and the driver gave permission to search the vehicle. Officers found what appeared to be cocaine. The driver was taken into custody and taken to the Mahoning County jail on a felony drug charge, the report states. Cash of $878 was seized as evidence. She also was cited for driving on expired registration. One of the occupants was given a warning for a curfew violation and released to a family member, the report states.

At 12:44 a.m. Sunday, officers saw a vehicle parked in the rear of the George Voinovich Government Center, 242 W. Federal St., which has a posted sign stating that only authorized vehicles can park there, the report states.

Next to the vehicle was a man who was holding a glass bottle of an alcoholic beverage. Officers pulled up behind the vehicle, and the man put his bottle inside the car.

Officers told him to walk away from the car, but he became uncooperative, the report states. The car was towed, and the man was cited for having an open container of alcohol.

At 12:07 a.m. Sunday, officers saw a vehicle on West Commerce Street with heavily tinted windows and made a traffic stop. Officers observed a man with an open can between his legs. The man said it was an energy drink, but it was an alcoholic drink, a report states.

He and another passenger were cited for each having an open container, and the driver was warned for the window tint.

At 12:50 a.m. Sunday, officers saw a vehicle pull into the Hookah bar parking lot near the bar’s entrance, then make an improper turn into a parking space, striking an unoccupied vehicle, a report states.

The driver provided an identification card showing her to be a nondriver. She said she does not have a driver’s license and was cited for driving under suspension, improper turn and was confirmed to have an active warrant for failure to appear out of Lordstown on another driving under suspension charge. She was taken into custody and taken to a travel center in Weathersfield to be transferred to the custody of the Lordstown Police Department, the report states.

Police were unable to locate the driver of the vehicle that was struck.