STRUTHERS Man faces charges in vandalism of buses

School officials expect buses to be back on the road Monday.
STRUTHERS -- Municipal Judge James R. Lanzo set bond at $96,000 for a city man charged with vandalizing several school buses earlier this week.
Lawrence M. Conzett, 20, of Sexton Street, was arraigned this morning on charges of disrupting public service, vandalism, criminal damaging, possessing criminal tools and trespassing.
Judge Lanzo set bond at $96,000 and scheduled his preliminary hearing for 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Police arrested Conzett on Thursday after spotting him running from the bus terminal on Garfield Street around 2 p.m. 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.
Wire cutters found
A pair of wire cutters was found in Conzett's rear pants pocket after he 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 check the buses. The officers found fresh footprints in the snow under several buses.
A wire cutter had been used to remove a section of the fence.
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.
Cost of the damage is extensive, with replacement cost 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.