Man gets two years for house break-in

YOUNGSTOWN — A man who tried to break into his North Side neighbors’s house has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court imposed the sentence Wednesday on James Kovach, 54, of Fairgreen Avenue, who had earlier pleaded guilty to attempted burglary and possessing criminal tools.

Kovach and his lawyer, Walter Ritchie, argued for probation, saying Kovach is being treated locally for mental illness, but the judge denied that request, citing Kovach’s long criminal record, including two prior prison terms.

“The court considers the burglary of another’s home to be an unforgiveable crime, one for which people must be incarcerated,” the judge added.

Police arrested and jailed Kovach last December, shortly after a woman told them she watched from her second floor window as he tried to break into her house in the 200 block of Fairgreen Avenue by pounding on a door.

Police said they saw Kovach drop something in an empty lot in the 1400 block of Elm Street while running away, and they later recovered a screwdriver and pry bar in the grass. The officers observed a missing screen door knob and pry marks at two other doors at the house.