Man charged after police rescue mother

The judge ordered the defendant to stay away from his mother.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — An 85-year-old woman in her nightgown and slippers used a phone inside her garage to call police and tell them she had been locked in by her son.

The son, Robert J. Hawn, 51, of Wilkinson Avenue, was video-arraigned Thursday in municipal court on charges of domestic violence and unlawful restraint. Judge Robert P. Milich set bond at $5,000, allowing 10 percent to be posted, and ordered Hawn to have no contact with his mother once released from Mahoning County Jail.

Hawn also was arraigned on unrelated charges of failure to reinstate his license and possession of drug paraphernalia that were filed in 2004. Bond in those cases was set at $4,000, also with 10 percent allowed to be posted.

An attorney will be appointed to represent Hawn, who receives government assistance.

John Marsh, an assistant city prosecutor, told the judge that Hawn’s criminal record includes convictions for breaking and entering and three counts of driving under the influence.

Hawn said he spent two years in a Florida prison and has been home about 18 months.

When rescued by Patrolmen Dan Mikus and Terry Russo early Wednesday, Hawn’s mother said her son had been convicted in Florida of writing checks on an elderly man’s account. She told the officers her son has been increasingly hostile toward her.

When police arrived at the Hawns’ West Side home, they found Robert Hawn standing at the end of the driveway, a CD player tucked into his waist and headphones hanging around his neck. He said he was waiting for his brother to pick him up for work.

Hawn told the officers his mother was in the house and led them inside, showing a coffee cup on the counter and saying: “See, I know she was up and all right; here’s her cup.” The woman was no where to be found in the house, however.

According to police, Hawn said he last saw his mother at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Mikus considered the possibility that she may have walked away.

At the garage, Mikus tried to open the door, but it was locked. He heard a noise inside and asked Hawn to unlock the door.

Hawn’s mother, shivering in her nightclothes, had tears streaming down her face when found by police, reports show. She told the officers her son had become enraged when she asked him to set a dishwasher out with the trash and locked her in the garage around 7 a.m.

The elderly woman said her son has been saying things like “You’re no mother,” reports show. Police described her as scared to death of her son, adding that she was shaking and sobbing.

Mikus said in the report of the event that he found the woman competent — she rattled off her Social Security number and date of birth and knew all her sons’ names. He said she also appeared in touch with reality.