Suspect pleads guilty for post office panic

His actions led to a three-hour evacuation of the downtown post office.

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

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.

Mike McBride, an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor, said he could not discuss the facts of the case, such as Kopnitsky’s role in the events, until after sentencing. Sentencing will occur at 11:15 a.m. June 25.

Judge Sweeney ruled that Kopnitsky is allowed to be released from the Mahoning County Jail into the custody of the Donofrio Home, where he can receive substance abuse treatment, until his sentencing.

Kopnitsky’s arrest on the charges triggered a probation violation from an earlier conviction, and he spent seven months in prison on the probation violation, said his attorney, Jim Melone.