Neighbor arrested after residents find everything gone from home

STAFF REPORT

AUSTINTOWN — A township man was arrested after several items missing from his neighbors’ home were found by police on his property.

Police said two of the four residents returned to their Elm Trace Street home at about 8:30 p.m. Monday and found that it had been broken into.

They saw that virtually everything, including four bedroom sets, furniture, clothing, cookware, appliances, hot water tank, furnace, refrigerator and piping, was missing.

The victims told police many items missing from the garage were marked with a green or white sticker and ready for a garage sale.

Police apprehended the next-door neighbor, Michael Ragan, 40, after they followed drag marks from the victims’ garage to Ragan’s driveway. Upon a search of Ragan’s yard, police found cookware, two stocking caps and shower gel belonging to the victims.

Ragan gave officers permission to search his home, and a baker’s rack and several items were found with the green and white garage sale stickers on them, police said.

Police took Ragan into custody on charges of receiving stolen property and held him at the Mahoning County Jail until he posted bond.

“We could prove that the stolen property was at his residence, but we couldn’t actually prove that he was the one who took it,” Police Chief Robert Gavalier said about why Ragan wasn’t charged with burglary.

He said police weren’t able to recover all of the stolen items were because not all were in Ragan’s house during the search.

An estimated value of the stolen property was not available.