Federal grand jury indicts Girard man for burglaries of firearms dealers

YOUNGSTOWN — A federal grand jury in Cleveland has indicted Matthew Clingerman of Girard for his alleged role in the burglaries of two federally licensed firearms dealers.

The indictment returned Tuesday charges Clingerman, 22, with theft of firearms from Buckeye Firearms in Rogers and Midwest Money Center in Liberty, said William J. Edwards, acting U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. Both burglaries occurred in May 2007.

The indictment also charges Clingerman with unlawful possession of the firearms stolen from each of the dealers after he had been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

Clingerman also is under indictment in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. In a 43-count indictment, the county grand jury charged Clingerman with breaking and entering at Miller Rod and Gun, a federally licensed firearm dealership at 5140 Youngstown-Poland Road, Boardman, in two separate 4 a.m. incidents last year, May 14 and 20.

The federal case is being prosecuted by Nancy L. Kelley, an assistant U.S. attorney, after an investigation the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Boardman Police Department, the Columbiana Sheriff and the Liberty Police departments.