GIRARD Destroy businessman's gun, judge orders

The prosecutor had a credibility problem with his own witness.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- A local businessman who police say opened fire at a fleeing thief has lost his gun.
Fortunato Simeone, owner of Towne Centre Liquor, Lottery and Beverage, pleaded no contest Thursday to a charge of disorderly conduct, reduced from discharging a firearm within the city limits.
Municipal Judge Michael A. Bernard ordered Simeone's .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun to be destroyed and fined him $100.
As part of the plea agreement between prosecutor Robert Johnson and defense attorney Charles Dunlap, charges of negligent assault and menacing were dismissed.
All the charges are misdemeanors.
Theft charges against two men who police say took bottles of cognac from Towne Centre at 816 N. State St. were dismissed.
"I think he overreacted," said Capt. Frank Bigowsky, who filed the charges against Simeone.
"I'm satisfied as long as he understands that he wasn't law-abiding," Bigowsky said. "He didn't understand the consequences of his actions."
What happened
Bigowsky said Lowell L. Jones, 40, of Blain Street, Warren, and James W. Daniels Jr., 51, of Third Street, Warren, took four bottles of alcohol from the store Feb. 10.
When Jones emerged from the store, he was confronted by Simeone, who put the gun to Jones' head, according to Bigowsky.
Jones fled and Simeone caught up with him at an old guard shack on the former Ohio Leather Works property.
Jones told police Simeone fired three shots at him, but only one spent cartridge was found. Jones, who was unarmed, had a bullet hole in his pants.
Johnson said one of the difficulties in prosecuting the case was that it was a confusing series of events and he had a credibility problem with one of his own witnesses -- Jones.
Jones and Daniels have criminal records and both were on probation at the time, the prosecutor pointed out.
"Two wrongs don't make a right. Maybe two wrongs help resolve this case," Johnson said.
Dunlap said the charges should never have been filed against his client, noting people have the right to protect their property.
Bigowsky called it vigilantism.
yovich@vindy.com