Police find suspect in assault and robbery of elderly South Side man

YOUNGSTOWN — Police said they caught up with a man suspected of targeting area elderly residents for robbery.

Charles Zimmerman, 36, who has no permanent address but was believed to be living on the city’s South Side, was arrested at a home in the 300 block of Lourdes Lane in Campbell, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Police said Zimmerman was wanted on multiple warrants out of Youngstown, Struthers, Poland Township and Coitsville Township on various charges including burglary, aggravated burglary, robbery and kidnapping.

The latest case involved the assault and robbery of an 84-year-old Shady Run Road man on Monday, said Detective Sgt. Kevin Mercer, head of the Youngstown Street Crimes Unit.

A police report said that the victim heard a sound at the back door of his South Side home at 5:20 p.m. and, when he approached the door, the intruder pushed inside, punched him, demanded money and threatened to kill him. The victim gave up his wallet after the suspect tried to tie him up, the report said.

The victim was taken to a hospital to be checked for internal injuries, police said.

Mercer said police located a vehicle Zimmerman was suspected of driving in the 1300 block of Dryden Avenue on Tuesday afternoon but learned he had left the area just minutes before officers arrived.

City police and members of the U.S. Marshals Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force searched the neighborhood for Zimmerman, calling in several canine units to scour a nearby wooded area, but were unable to locate him at that time. Police later learned that he was at an address in Campbell and apprehended him there, Mercer said.

He is being held in the Mahoning County Jail pending arraignment today.