Feds convict Warren man after police find guns, cash, drugs

WARREN, Ohio - A Warren man awaits sentencing on federal charges after police say they searched his car and found guns and $2,000 worth of heroin and the powerful opiate fentanyl.
A federal jury has convicted 40-year-old Donald Jones of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute tramadol, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The verdict came last week as jury trials resume in federal district court in Northern Ohio following a suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, on November 11, 2018, Warren police pulled over Jones’s car and conducted a search after detecting the smell of marijuana.
During the search, officers discovered a secret compartment beneath the center console where they found a mixture of heroin and fentanyl with a street value of $2,000, several tramadol pills, and two loaded guns.
In a second secret compartment, officers also found digital scales and drug paraphernalia.
At the time of his arrest, Jones had over $3,000 in cash in his wallet and over $5,000 in his shoe.
Jones is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a previous felony conviction.
Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on August 26.