Man back where he says he belongs -- jail

Police said the suspect took the getaway car from friends in Braceville.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NEWTON FALLS -- A man living in Braceville Township after recently being released from prison is back where he told police he belongs: behind bars.
Michael Hileman, 29, whose last address was on state Route 5, was arraigned in Newton Falls Municipal Court on Monday and charged with aggravated robbery for giving a hold-up note to a teller at USA Bank inside the Giant Eagle grocery store on Ridge Road in the city Saturday afternoon.
He is being held in Trumbull County Jail on $250,000 bond, a preliminary hearing set for 10:30 a.m. June 13.
Newton Falls Police Chief Robert Carlson said Hileman told police he had been out of prison only a month and needed to go back to kick his crack habit. He had been staying with friends in Braceville since his release from prison, Carlson said, and took their Chevrolet Cavalier to commit the robbery.
Warren police arrested Hileman on Sunday at a residence on Elm Road Northeast after locating a vehicle out front matching the description of the car used in the robbery.
Hileman was charged with receiving stolen property and was scheduled to face that charge today in Warren Municipal Court, said Assistant Warren law director Traci Rose. He had a suspected crack pipe in his pocket when arrested, police said.
What happened
Carlson said Hileman looked suspicious to patrons in the busy grocery store Saturday and in the shopping area, and many of the patrons took note of him as he walked into the store. Hileman told police he considered robbing the Giant Eagle service desk but saw the bank and decided to rob it instead, Carlson said.
He handed the teller a note saying he had a gun and wanted money, Carlson said, adding that he got a couple hundred dollars and fled in the Cavalier. He didn't show anyone a gun, Carlson said.
Multiple witnesses gave police the license plate number of the Cavalier, a description of the car and a description of Hileman, including a tattoo on Hileman's neck with the name Becki on it.
"I wish they were all this easy," Carlson said. "He just needed money for his crack addiction. He said the only way to break his habit was to go back in [jail]," Carlson said.
Warren police said Hileman was also wanted on a warrant from the Portage County Sheriff's Office and a warrant for leaving a detention facility in Pennsylvania.