Man who made false 911 calls breaks probation, is sent to jail

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — David Kop- nitsky, the Youngstown man who made a false 911 call about a robbery at the downtown Youngstown post office July 30, 2007, has violated his probation and is back in Mahoning County Jail.

Kopnitsky, 29, of Broadway Avenue, tested positive for cocaine on March 11, which violated the terms of his probation, said Meghan Brundege, an assistant county prosecutor.

Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court found him guilty this week of the violation and sentenced him to finish out the remaining 202 days in his 18-month prison sentence.

Judge Sweeney ruled in December that Kopnitsky would be placed on probation for two years and released from the county jail after Kopnitsky pleaded guilty to making false alarms, a fourth-degree felony.

Police said Kopnitsky made three false 911 calls in which he said robberies were occurring at various locations around the city, including the post office.

Kopnitsky was also indicted on a fifth-degree felony charge of harassment and a fourth-degree felony charge of assault March 26 after he was accused of biting and kicking a deputy sheriff, also March 11.