AUSTINTOWN 2 teens face charges in car stereo thefts

A Youngstown man is being sought by police.
AUSTINTOWN -- A township police detective said at least nine people were victims of thieves who stole several car stereos during the weekend. Two Youngstown teens were arrested; police suspect a 21-year-old man also was involved.
Mark A. Jones, 17, of Oakwood Avenue in Youngstown, and William Perez Jr., 19, of Sterling Avenue, are each charged with receiving stolen property.
Detective Sgt. Ray Holmes said the group wore headbands with lights so they could see as they broke into vehicles. They hid stolen items in areas along the street, and later came back for them in a stolen car. Holmes said they had completed four to six such heists.
One of the suspects told Holmes that thieves favor Austintown and Youngstown over Boardman because Boardman has "too many police around and they just got that $50,000" from Boardman Township trustees to pay overtime for officers focused on street crime.
Police report
Officers received a call around 6 a.m. Sunday from a woman who said suspicious men had been looking through vehicles near Washington Square and Derbyshire drives. The men fled in a blue Oldsmobile when they saw the woman, reports state.
Police chased the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme until it stopped in front of Perez' Sterling Avenue home. There, the Oldsmobile's driver put it in reverse and jumped out with a passenger. Another passenger jumped out when the car hit a police cruiser.
Police with scent-tracking dogs found Jones hiding under a parked car on Inglewood Avenue. He is accused of being one of the passengers in the car. Perez, who police say they believe was the other passenger, was found in the bedroom of the Sterling Avenue home.
Police are still looking for the driver, who they believe is a 21-year-old Youngstown man.
The Oldsmobile, which was reported stolen, had a damaged steering column and contained a hacksaw, a screwdriver, an opened steering wheel security device and several pieces of car stereo equipment, police said. Police also searched a Chevrolet Cavalier parked in the Sterling Avenue driveway and found six car stereos, two CD players, a CD changer, CDs, a speaker, wire cutters and other items inside. Holmes said some of the items were likely stolen from Youngstown.
The Cavalier's owner, who also lives at the Sterling Avenue home, told police they had not been there the day before.