WARREN TOWNSHIP — Two men are facing charges after a Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office deputy was injured late Friday while trying to stop two men from escaping a traffic stop on West Market Street near the township fire department.

Warrants were issued Tuesday morning by prosecutors in Warren Municipal Court for both Angelo T. Vecchio II, 37, of Akron, and Christopher R. Blumer, 37, of Southington. According to court records, Vecchio was charged with felonious assault and failure to comply with the order of a police officer, while Blumer was charged with complicity.

As of Tuesday evening, neither man had been arrested.

According to a sheriff’s report, the two were pulled over in a 2002 silver Mustang that Deputy Dennis Garito identified as being owned by a Shaker Heights woman who was wanted by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. The driver of the Mustang told Garito the car belonged to his girlfriend who he said was in rehab, the report states.

As the driver exited the car, Garito observed the man throw an object that looked like a tied-up sandwich bag toward the other man, the report states. At this time, a scuffle ensued, with the driver trying to get back into the vehicle and take the wheel. During the skirmish, the deputy radioed a dispatcher for help, the report states.

Eventually, the driver broke free to get the vehicle started and into gear while Garito was trying to hold onto him, the report states. The deputy ran 10 to 15 feet alongside the vehicle but had to let go because the Mustang picked up speed.

The vehicle fled west on West Market Street toward the bypass. Garito tried to pursue, but could not spot the fleeing car at the interchange, the report states. A couple in a passing SUV told Garito a vehicle with no headlights was seen heading east on the bypass, the report states.

A report was issued to surrounding law enforcement agencies with descriptions of the car and the two men.

Garito later returned to the site of the traffic stop, where he found a brown and tan cap belonging to Vecchio, according to the report.

Garito was treated at St. Joseph Warren Hospital for a pinched nerve, the report states, after he noticed a sharp pain in his right hip and a tingling feeling in his foot.

The deputy was given medication and will be treated further by his family doctor.

gvogrin@tribtoday.com