STRUTHERS Man faces charges in vandalism of buses

School officials expect buses to be back on the road Monday.
STRUTHERS -- A man suspected of using a pair of wire cutters to put Struthers city school buses out of commission was due in municipal court today.
Police said they arrested Lawrence Conzett, 20, of Sexton Street on Thursday afternoon after a chase. He faces charges of criminal trespass, criminal damaging, resisting arrest and possession of criminal tools.
He was booked at the city jail and held on $4,000 bond. Arraignment in municipal court was set for 9:30 a.m. today.
The buses are not expected to back on the road until Monday.
Superintendent Dr. Sandra DiBacco said she doesn't have a tally of the damage. At least eight buses were vandalized, with wires cut and tires slashed, she said.
The costs of the damage is extensive, with replacement cost alone of nine tires at least $500 each, she said. The superintendent had no idea what the motive may have been.
DiBacco said Conzett attended Struthers High School then finished his school work through an electronic computer school.
Chased after man
Police said they saw Conzett running from the bus terminal on Garfield Street around 2 p.m. Thursday and shouted several times for him to stop. Officials said Conzett eventually stopped after jumping a fence and landing on the Struthers baseball practice field.
Police said that Conzett, when questioned, told them he was coming from a friend's house on West Wilson Street, where he'd been working on a vehicle. Police said he was uncooperative and appeared deceptive.
A pair of wire cutters was found in a rear pants pocket after Conzett agreed to be searched. He told police the tool was used to help his friend work on a car.
Police followed footprints in the snow near the fence of the bus lot on Garfield and noticed they stopped near a trailer. A school official was notified and let police into the lot to make a check of the buses. The officers found fresh footprints in the snow under several of the buses.
A wire cutter had been used to remove a section of the fence.