YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – They prefer it and don’t need it, then they need it and they don’t have it.
This is often the logic, say the police and others, of people arrested with guns in the city.
Still, a large proportion of those arrested since last October are under the age of 21. For these individuals, firearms charges are often their first crime, a crime that stays on their files and can make it difficult for them to do a good job as they get older.
On June 9, around one in four people arrested in the city for armed conflict were under 21 or 25 percent. In 2021, the city arrested 68 people for gun possession, 17 of whom were under the age of 21, according to court documents and police reports.
Guy Burney, who leads the To Reduce Violence (CIRV) Community Initiative, which works with people at risk of committing violence or being victims of gun violence, said the main reason young people give him a gun is because they think they need protection.
“They’d rather have it and not need it, then they need it and don’t have it,” said Burney.
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The reasons they believe they need protection vary, Burney said, from living in a poor neighborhood to people who might themselves be victims of violence. He said the best way to combat this is to teach young people the wisdom from a young age to make good decisions and not put yourself in a position that could put yourself or others at risk.
Since October 19, the numbers are even bigger than the city began a round of special patrols looking for gun perpetrators 19 people were shot dead in the middle of a month, three of them fatal. Of 28 people arrested between October 19 and the end of 2020, 17 of them were under 21, or nearly 61 percent.
A total of 102 people were arrested for gun possession in 2020, 25 of them under the age of 21.
That means that 34 out of 100 people arrested because of a gun since October 19 are under the age of 21, or more than 34 percent.
For all of 2019, only 14 out of 100 people arrested on gun charges, or 14 percent of those arrested, were under the age of 21.
A person under the age of 21 with the initials “JB” who is 20 years old and lives in the city said he knew many young people in the city who had carried guns. It is often their surroundings that dictate that they arm themselves, he said.
“They think they have to protect themselves because the police don’t,” JB said on a Sunday afternoon at the police station where he was attending a gathering of players in town Respect the basketball league.
The meeting took place several hours later Two people were killed and three others injured outside a nightclub on Salt Springs Road. One of those killed was only 19 and the other 23.
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Another person under 21 at the meeting, JS, who is 19 and also lives in the city, said protection is the number one reason people in his age group carry guns.
“People feel they need to protect themselves,” he said. “In the shootings, you never know.”
In 2021, 50 people were shot dead in the city through June 11 and June 13, an increase from the same time in 2020 when 30 people were shot.
A total of 98 people were shot in 2020, including 27 of 28 murder victims, an increase from the 58 people shot in 2019.
Malik Mostella, who has been the city’s police officer for 21 years and is now the department’s liaison officer, complained during the same meeting where JB and JS spoke about the violence that has temporarily ravaged the city.
“Our biggest problem is our young men are killing each other,” said Mostella, a South Side native who is Black. “We’re killing a whole generation of young people.”
Mostella has played a north-side beat on the turn of midnight for most of his career, interrupted by a stint at the former Street Crimes Unit, where officials patrolled hotspots around town looking for wanted refugees. He said he reacted to too many murders where he knew the victim or the victim was someone from his family.
“To be honest, it has gotten quite old in 21 years,” said Mostella.
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Mentors for young people can help, Burney said. In fact, he does so with a 22-year-old man who has been suspended on parole on a gun charge after telling a judge that he has no more hope for his future. When he heard the story, he held out his hand. The judge released the man early from prison so he could begin the trial, get advice and his GED so he could get a job and deal with the problems in his life.
Mentoring is especially needed in neighborhoods where there are many single families with no families or, in some cases, no adults, Burney said.
“This is one of the greatest things we have to help young people,” said Burney. “We offer positive adults.”
Burney and Mostella both said it was also important for young people to do things so that they have positive people to interact with and fill the time with activities so they don’t get into trouble. In addition to the basketball leagues that take place in the city, Mostella has a few other ideas that he now wants to get off the ground.
Mostella also agrees with Burney that reaching children at a young age is important, but he thinks it has to be very young, like it was before junior high. Older children, says Mostella, often have their opinions and attitudes firmly established.
One thing, Burney said, prevents many young people in town from thinking too much about their future, and that comes into play when it comes to carrying guns. The most common offense for most first-time offenders is improper handling of a firearm in a loaded vehicle or someone with a loaded gun in a car nearby or within easy reach.
The indictment is a fourth degree crime and is often given suspended sentences. But someone faced with this charge has a crime on their file, even if the person does not go to jail. This can make it difficult for the person to find a good job when an employer sees them on a job application or shows them up on a background check.
Burney said people don’t think about the long-term complications of carrying a gun; then they will be arrested on charges that they may not even see a jail term for. It seems like good business – until they get older and can’t find a job because they have a crime on their files.
He’s been to many hearings for people trying to get such crimes off their files so they can get a good job.
