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AUSTINTOWN -- A McDonald man is due in Austintown court Feb. 24 and is being held in jail with no bond after being arrested last week on a charge of OVI.
Jacob Howley, 32, of 2562 W. Liberty St., was arrested after Austintown officers said they found him asleep behind the wheel at a gas station.
Officers on patrol found Howley seemingly passed out behind the wheel at Sun Merchant, 3605 Mahoning Ave., about 10 p.m. Wednesday, according to a police report.
When officers knocked on the window and roused Howley, the vehicle started moving toward a telephone pole. Howley was ordered to put the car in park before he struck the pole, which he did. He identified himself and said he was driving his girlfriend's car around the block.
Officers noticed "pinned pupils and slurred speech," the report states.
While talking with police, Howley kept falling asleep and was giving indication of narcotic use, which he denied. Officers noticed a folded piece of paper and a rolled $20 bill in the center console of the vehicle. Police then asked Howley to get out of the car to perform field sobriety tests. The report states he did them inadequately.
During the field test, Howley fell asleep multiple times while standing, could not follow along and continually denied using narcotics, but gave consent for officers to search his vehicle. The paper found in the console had remnants of a powdered substance, at which point Howley was placed under arrest for OVI.
On the way to Austintown Police Department, Howley continued in and out of consciousness and medical treatment was waiting at the station. While being checked by paramedics, Howley's condition deteriorated and he admitted to snorting heroin, the report states.
Howley then was searched and three more empty bindles were found in his coat. In the ambulance, Howley was given Narcan and vomited multiple times after the antidote was administered. He was taken to a Mercy Health facility in Austintown, according to the report.
Howley refused to submit to a chemical test and the report states he has three previous OVI charges within 10 years. These offenses occurred in 2011, 2018 and 2019, along with multiple physical control convictions. When he was released from the hospital, Howley was taken to the Mahoning County jail.
For refusing to submit to the chemical test and the previous charges, Howley could be facing three to 40 months in jail, an $800 to $10,000 fine and a three-year-to-life license suspension, if convicted.
nhawthorne@tribtoday.com