3 Valley men arrested in rash of burglaries

The men are believed to be responsible for about 30 burglaries.

YOUNGSTOWN — Three area men have been arrested and now face charges in connection with a string of area burglaries that took place over the last two years.

Attorney General Marc Dann’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission announced the arrest of Jason Kirkpatrick, 28, and Aaron Toole, 28, both of Warren; and James Hunsbarger, 27, of Campbell.

Kirkpatrick was indicted Oct. 30 by a Trumbull County grand jury on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, 19 counts of breaking and entering, nine counts of grand theft and five counts of felony vandalism.

Toole, indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury Sept. 20 on charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, is charged with 15 counts of breaking and entering, seven counts of grand theft, one count of receiving stolen property and three counts of felony vandalism.

Hunsbarger pleaded in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on Oct. 10 to two counts of breaking and entering and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

Police suspect all three men are responsible for about 30 commercial business burglaries occurring throughout the Mahoning Valley during 2006 and in the early months of 2007. The men are believed to have used surveillance equipment to monitor some of the businesses before breaking in.

In some of the burglaries, alarm systems had been disabled and entry had been gained from the roof or by cutting a hole in a wall from an adjacent business.

Police did recover several safes taken from the businesses and noted that the thieves demonstrated a certain level of skill while committing the crimes. Police also seized tools, scanners, headbands with attached lighting, a list of radio frequencies for area police agencies, handcuffs, binoculars and miscellaneous jewelry.

“The Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission will be continuing their investigation and anticipate additional arrests in the near future,” said Dann.