Man arrested for red laser light in drive-thru enters plea

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – A Boardman man who was arrested in Liberty after workers at a drive-thru called police pleaded guilty Thursday to charges against him.

Robert D. Roman, 27, pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to amended charges of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony; and aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor. He will be sentenced following a pre-sentence investigation.

Roman was charged in February after workers at a fast-food restaurant on Belmont Avenue called police and told them someone was shining a red laser light in the drive-thru and they feared it was a gun.

When police arrived, officers questioned Roman who said that there was not a gun in the car and that the laser light came from a bullet-like laser light that was in the console, however, officers found a loaded gun on the floorboard of the car that had a red dot sight laser attachment. They also found a laser light in the console.

Roman told officers the gun was his, and he was arrested on the weapons charge.

Another man in the car with Roman, identified as 58-year-old Robert L. Roman, of Hubbard, was cited for obstructing official business for not responding to officers' commands and was hit with a stun gun.

Robert L. Roman was found guilty of an amended charge of persistent disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. He was sentenced to one year of probation and fined.