Woman held in felony theft

By Ed Runyan

A detective said the man began helping the defendant after she was evicted from her apartment.

AUSTINTOWN — Police have charged a 43-year-old Warren woman with theft by deception, a felony, after she was alleged to have persuaded an 81-year-old Austintown man to give her more than $33,000 since 2006.

Austintown Detective Kathy Dina said she and a patrol officer, along with Liberty police, learned that Felicia Docgrand, of Hamilton Street, was at the Woodhurst Drive apartment of an 81-year-old man Monday morning.

When officers found her there, they arrested her. Officers served her with a traffic citation from April 2 and arrested her on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing. The latter charge was filed because she was advised by Austintown police in August 2006 to stay away from the man because of a burglary she was accused of committing against him, Dina said.

Docgrand gave back the items alleged to have been stolen in that matter, Dina said.

The felony charge was filed with allegations investigated by Liberty Police involving the $33,000, Dina said.

In March, Liberty police Capt. Richard Tisone said Docgrand accompanied the man March 24 to a branch of Home Savings and Loan on Belmont Avenue, where the man attempted to withdraw $500.

The man told Liberty police he was going to give $400 of it to Docgrand because Docgrand said she was going to give it to the FBI as payment toward a new car and that the money was needed to keep the man “out of trouble with the FBI.”

The man told police he had given the woman large sums of money to turn over to the FBI but had not yet received his new car. He said the woman also had wrecked a car he used to own.

Docgrand was found in the bank parking lot in a 2000 GMC vehicle the Austintown man had bought for her. Tisone said the man “doesn’t appear to be aware of what is going on.”

Dina said it appears the man has been helping the woman in various ways since summer 2006, when she was being evicted from her apartment in Central Park West near his.

Dina said the seriousness of the allegations against Docgrand are elevated because of the age of the alleged victim and the amount of money she is accused of taking.

Docgrand was arraigned Wednesday in Mahoning County Court here on the felony charge. Bond was set at $100,000. She also was arraigned on the misdemeanor charges with bond set at $2,500. She remained in Mahoning County Jail late Wednesday.

If convicted of the felony, Docgrand could be sentenced up to eight years in prison.

runyan@vindy.com