Ballard guilty on all counts

YOUNGSTOWN – A case that has seen multiple delays since it was first opened more than two years ago ended Friday with a conviction.

Stevie Ballard was convicted of felonious assault and several other charges related to a November 2021 drive-by shooting in Austintown.

Just after 11:30 a.m. Friday, jurors presented their verdicts to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony Donofrio. The panel of seven women and five men found Ballard, 23, guilty of felonious assault, having a weapon under disability, discharging a weapon on or near prohibited premises, and carrying a concealed weapon.

The conviction also carries two firearms specifications that will add time to Ballard’s prison sentence.

The charges stem from a Nov. 22, 2021, incident, in which Ballard shot at a car driven by Trayshaun Hill. Hill, 22, was not wounded in the shooting, and was also convicted in the case on charges of driving a stolen vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon, and tampering with evidence. Hill was released from prison this week.

For more on this story, read Saturday’s print and online editions of The Vindicator.

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