POLAND, BOARDMAN Authorities seek help in catching burglar

More than 20 homes have been invaded.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Township police are asking for help from residents in catching a burglar who has managed to elude authorities for several months.
Friday afternoon, a 90-year-old Timberbrooke Trail woman heard a knock at her front door but refused to answer because she was home alone. As the knocking continued, the woman tried unsuccessfully to reach her granddaughter.
Still trying to reach a family member or neighbor by phone, the woman turned and saw a white man wearing a dark-hooded sweat shirt and dark clothes standing next to her. The man ordered the woman to turn over any cash in the house. She gave him $250 hidden in a bedroom and he ran out of the house.
Police Chief Carl Massullo said police think the same man has committed a series of home break-ins in the township since at least the end of the summer.
"There are only two words to describe this guy -- bold and brazen," Massullo said.
Police have documented at least 10 home break-ins in the township since Aug. 22 that are believed to be attributed to the hooded bandit. In three of those crimes, the man bumped into a resident who was unexpectedly home at the time.
Massullo said most of the offenses have taken place in daylight in areas where such crimes are uncommon. The last home believed to be broken into by the man is near the police station, and the window through which he entered faces a row of occupied homes.
In Boardman, too
Boardman Township also has had a series of daylight break-ins in the last several months. Capt. Jack Nichols said the crimes are possibly being committed by the same hooded bandit.
"We are having burglaries and they are having burglaries. We have reason to believe it is the same guy," he said.
Boardman police are investigating 10 burglaries believed to have been committed by the man. Nichols said Boardman's crime analysis specialist Chrissie Ross has tracked the suspect's movements in both areas.
Police said the man is unlikely to stop the break-ins without being caught.
In some cases, the man has reportedly told his victims he has a drug habit and needs the money. Police say the man usually steals only cash.
Massullo said police need the help of residents to catch the burglar.
"We are asking that residents call the police and report any strange people or suspicious vehicles in their area, especially someone who is not common to that particular area," he said.
The man is described as being white, 6 feet or taller, with a thin to medium build and no facial hair. He wears dark clothes and a dark-hooded sweat shirt with the strings drawn up tightly around his face.
Poland police can be reached at (330) 757-1549, and Boardman police can be reached at (330) 726-4144.
jgoodwin@vindy.com