TRUMBULL COUNTY Stripped houses plague Warren

Antique items are particularly appealing to the thieves.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Besides the chore of trying to board up and demolish the city's growing list of vacant homes, officials also contend with people gutting the homes of anything of value.
Thieves strip woodwork and aluminum siding and take furnaces and hot water tanks, said Christopher Taneyhill, chief building official.
They find antique items such as wood trim and leaded glass doors and windows particularly appealing.
"You name it, they take it," he said, surmising that criminals sell those items at flea markets.
Taneyhill posted one house with a sign warning that it's been placed under surveillance and anyone entering the property could be prosecuted for criminal trespass. It also urges anyone witnessing suspicious activity at the house to call police or the building department.
But with more than 100 abandoned houses in the city, posting all of them isn't feasible, Taneyhill said.
"We're trying to get neighbors more aware to call when they see something," he said.
Taneyhill hopes to meet with representatives of the city's law department to try to reach a solution.
Greg Hicks, city law director, said that because the houses are vacant, it would be difficult to charge the criminals with anything other than theft.
Many lack local owners
Many of the homes are in foreclosure with an out-of-state bank or mortgage company listed as the property owner. That means there's no one around to file a complaint or press charges when a house falls victim to thieves' prey.
Councilman Alford L. Novak, D-2nd, said he wants to pursue legislation to address the problem.
The city, with legislation, could require a certified letter from the property owner to be presented for an individual to acquire a salvage permit. The building department could file charges against anyone found stripping a house without a salvage permit, Novak said.
He said thieves took chandeliers and antique woodwork from one house on Mahoning Avenue, in the section called the former Millionaires' Row, shortly after it was put up for sale.
"Once the stripping begins, it's damaged beyond economic repair," Novak said.
Because people who strip the houses show up with ladders, trucks and other equipment, neighbors may think they have authorization to remove items from the property, the building official said.
"Nobody calls because they think they belong there," he said.
Once items of value have been removed, it becomes less appealing to potential buyers and the deterioration continues, Taneyhill said.
denise_dick@vindy.com