POLAND TOWNSHIP Cops nab teens in house burglary

Police are still investigating other burglaries.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Township police have arrested three teenagers in a house burglary here, but the culprits in a string of similar home burglaries remain a mystery.
Heather L. Forney, 17, of James Street is charged with felony burglary, and Frank B. Munholland, 19, of Water Street and Robert Smith, 19, of Wood Street, Lowellville, are charged with misdemeanor criminal damaging and felony burglary.
Police say the trio is responsible for a burglary at 6923 James St. on Aug. 22. The house is only a few doors away from Forney's home. No other information was immediately available.
Isolated case
Police Chief Carl Massullo said the burglary is an isolated case and the arrests are not related to ongoing investigations into a string of home break-ins in the township.
Homes have been burglarized on several streets, and one woman came face to face with an intruder in her home.
A Heatherbrae Drive woman, 76, came home as a man was going through her house looking for valuables.
The woman told police she heard noises coming from upstairs and when she went to investigate, a tall white man wearing a black hooded sweat shirt came from one of the bedrooms, told her he had a serious drug problem and demanded money.
The woman handed over $42. She was then told to walk or drive up and down the street while the intruder escaped.
Massullo described those cases as "a needle in a haystack" type of crime with little left behind for police to go on, but the department has not given up.
He said authorities are waiting for the thieves to slip up and officers will be there to catch them.
Pennies taken
In a recent theft, a 51-year-old Katahdin Drive woman told police someone entered her home between Aug. 10 and 24 and took a container that held about $700 worth of pennies. An additional $75 worth of pennies was removed from another container, reports say.
Police reports say there was no forced entry. Authorities did not say if the theft is thought to be related to other thefts in the township.
jgoodwin@vindy.com