Hubbard man charged with trying to break into home

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

The man bragged about getting out of charges in a pending Youngstown case, reports said.

HUBBARD — An emergency call to police led to the arrest of a city man accused of trying to break into a home on Hillcrest Avenue.

The same man had also been charged in a previous burglary case in Youngstown.

Police responding to a 3 a.m. 911 call about a prowler lurking on the outside of a Hillcrest Avenue home found Justin Shilling, 22, of Elizabeth Street, walking east on nearby Water Street. Shilling told officers he was out buying a pack of cigarettes and was inspecting the Hillcrest home because he and his mother are considering buying the property.

The resident at the home told police he heard a loud noise and assumed it was an animal, but when he looked outside, he saw a man walking from the rear of the house. The man later rang the doorbell then quickly walked away, reports said. Police later found a basement window at the home broken out.

The resident identified Shilling as the person near the home.

When officers told Shilling of the 911 complaint, reports say he told police he was accused of the same thing in Youngstown but bragged that he would get off because police can’t place him at the residences that were burglarized.

Youngstown police arrested Shilling June 24 after hearing an alarm at a house in the 200 block of Wychwood Lane around 7:30 a.m. Police said a rear window was broken and the rear door was open, but no one was inside.

While at the scene, they heard another house alarm sounding on nearby Lowell Avenue.

At that location, police said they spotted Shilling coming from the rear yard area of homes in the 200 block.

Officers found that two houses in that block had been broken into.

Shilling was free on $50,000 bond when he was arrested by Hubbard police. He is due back in Youngstown Municipal Court on July 23 to face burglary and breaking and entering charges.

Shilling has been charged with attempted breaking and entering in Hubbard and given a $50,000 bond in that case. He is currently being held in Trumbull County Jail and due back in Girard Municipal Court today.