Guilty plea in postal panic episode

YOUNGSTOWN — David Kopnitsky, 29, of Grafton, charged in connection with causing a three-hour evacuation of the downtown post office last summer, has pleaded guilty to a single charge that could land him in prison for up to 18 months.

Kopnitsky was indicted on charges of inducing panic and making false alarms, both fourth-degree felonies. In exchange for his plea agreement, a charge of making false alarms was dropped Friday in the courtroom of Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

On the day of the evacuation, three 911 calls were made alleging that robberies were occurring at different locations around the city, including the post office. All three reports were false.

But dozens of police cars and officers, together with sheriff’s deputies, FBI agents and postal inspectors converged on the post office after being told a gunman attempted a robbery and that a shot was fired in the lobby, shattering a large window.

Although a post office window was shattered from the outside, no postal employees reported seeing a gunman inside the building.

Read more in Saturday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com