The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

April 1, 2009

UPDATE: Teens jailed for suspected carjacking

By Courtney L. Anderson

SHARON, BROOKFIELD — Two Youngstown teens face charges after a carjacking Monday night in a parking lot on New Castle Avenue in Sharon.

Sharon police were called shortly after 8 p.m. to the 500 block of New Castle Avenue, where a 37-year-old Sharon man said he had been ordered out of his car at gunpoint by two teenagers.

Police said the victim pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store and was confronted by two young men, one of whom brandished a large revolver, pointed it at the driver and told him to get out of his green, 1997 Ford Expedition.

The teens then jumped into the sport utility vehicle and took off, police said.

Sharon police put out a bulletin for area police describing the vehicle and a Brookfield policeman spotted it on U.S. Route 62 at Addison Road in Masury, just over the Pennsylvania-Ohio line.

The Brookfield patrolman tried to get the driver to pull over, but he didn’t and police chased the SUV west toward Hubbard, Sharon police said.

On U.S. Route 62 near Bedford Road in Brookfield, the suspects stopped the vehicle, bailed out and ran into a wooded area nearby, Sharon police said.

Brookfield police arrested Algernon Montique Franklin, 18, after a foot chase.

Police from Hubbard Township, the Ohio Highway Patrol and a K-9 unit from Youngstown joined Sharon and Brookfield police to flush the other suspect out of the woods, Sharon police said.

Ohio Highway Patrol captured Cleo Christopher Johnson, 17, after a struggle, Sharon police said.

Both teens were in police custody by 9:05 p.m., Sharon police said.

Brookfield police recovered a loaded Ruger 0.357-caliber Magnum.

Police said no one was hurt and the vehicle didn’t appear to be damaged.

Johnson is charged as an adult by Sharon police with robbery of a motor vehicle, carrying a firearm without a license, criminal conspiracy and receiving stolen property. Brookfield police charged him with resisting arrest, receiving stolen property and carrying a concealed weapon.

Franklin is charged with robbery of a motor vehicle and two counts of criminal conspiracy and Brookfield police charged him with receiving stolen property and failing to comply with police.

Johnson is being held at the Juvenile Justice Center and Franklin was taken to Trumbull County Jail, both in Warren, Sharon police said. There was also a warrant from Mahoning County court for Franklin, police said.

The teens will be arraigned in Pennsylvania after they are extradited, Sharon police said.

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