Man arrested after Youngstown housemate alleges assault, says suspect made false statement

YOUNGSTOWN -- A man was taken to the Mahoning County jail Tuesday night after police arrested him at a home on South Jackson Street on the East Side for allegedly striking another man in the head with a handgun and then calling 911 to blame the attack on several "suspects with guns" who came into the house and committed a robbery.

A Youngstown police report described their entrance into the house and interactions with the suspect and then speaking to the victim, who told officers that he pretended to be unconscious but was "faking it to get out of the home," the report states.

When police arrived for the 8:49 p.m. call, the suspect, 34, met them coming down the stairs and said the victim was upstairs unconscious. Officers found the victim on the floor, saying he was struck on the head.

When officers spoke further with the suspect, he said three unknown males wearing a mask broke in and confronted him and the other victim, saying he could not remember what they looked like. The suspect initially told dispatchers in his 911 call there were four robbers with guns who came in and took jewelry and electronics and fired a gun at him before they fled.

The suspect also "was not able to describe what direction or if it was in the house or outside," the report states. Officers noticed while they were in the bedroom that there were multiple watches, jewelry, a TV and electronics still in the home "that did not appear to be disturbed," the report adds.

When the victim was in the ambulance, he told an officer that he had known the suspect for a couple of months and that about an hour before officers arrived, the suspect attacked him. He said the suspect returned home from the gas station and became "irate." He said the suspect pulled a gun while they were outside and forced the victim out of his vehicle, held a gun to his head and ordered him onto his knees in the garage saying "it was the last thing he would ever do."

The suspect took his keys and phone and would not allow him to leave for about an hour. The suspect also fired a gun in his direction, the man said. The suspect forced the man into the kitchen and hit him on the head with the gun, knocking him unconscious. He said he did not know how he got upstairs to the bedroom. Officers found a bullet shell on the ground near the vehicle.

The victim was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for treatment.

The suspect was taken to the county jail. He has been charged with several misdemeanor offenses in Youngstown Municipal Court since 2022, including domestic violence and several assaults, plus a 2023 felony abduction charge that resulted in him pleading guilty to felony abduction in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court and being sentenced to two years in prison with nearly one year of credit for time served in the county jail.

The suspect had no new charges on file in Youngstown Municipal Court Wednesday afternoon. He was listed as having been booked into the county jail Tuesday and released Wednesday.