Youngstown man indicted for intent to distribute 2 8 kilos of fentanyl wfmj.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wfmj.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
YOUNGSTOWN A man serving a life sentence for a 2009 double murder has filed a civil rights federal lawsuit in an attempt to get his freedom.
Lorenza Barnette, 39, who is incarcerated in the Marion Correctional Institution, has sued two Youngstown police officers who investigated the murder, the assistant prosecutor who tried the case and the Mahoning County judge who sentenced him, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Feb. 11 in the U.S. Court Northern District of Ohio.
Barnette was found guilty in 2011 of the murders of cousins Jaron Roland and Dary Woods, whose bodies were found in a burning car near the Mahoning River. Both men were bound with duct tape and had bags over their heads.
CLEVELAND Three Warren men arrested as part of a massive drug investigation last fall have pleaded guilty to federal felony charges for their part in the illegal operation.
Also, a Youngstown man was arrested this month by federal authorities on charges of distributing drugs in Warren in a separate case. Tyron Scott, 23, who was indicted last September on distributing cocaine charges, was arrested Saturday, according to reports.
According to court records, Scott has been on the run since Sept. 3 and wanted on a sealed federal indictment.
These men participated in change-of-plea hearings last week in federal court:
l Marcus Williams, 27, of Warren, on Feb. 2 pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and heroin and distribution of crack cocaine. Williams submitted to a background report before sentencing, which is scheduled at 10 a.m. June 2 before federal Judge Christopher Boyko.
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WARREN The city’s police chief noted that like everyone, the year 2020 was a difficult time for law enforcement in Warren.
“During 2020, we continued our efforts to provide our citizens with constitutionally based, professional policing services while dealing with the effects of a global pandemic, social unrest and a national surge in violent crime, especially in some of the nation’s larger cities,” Chief Eric Merkel wrote in his annual report submitted last week.
Merkel noted at different points of the year, about 12 officers out of 70 were off at some point with COVID-19 related symptoms.
“This did not create any staffing concerns as only a few were off at any one time,” he wrote.