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Agents probe Envy's Closet before burglary
YOUNGSTOWN
Employees at the Envy’s Closet clothing store on Mahoning Avenue have had a busy two-day period with activity from law enforcement officers and violent burglars.
Employees at the store, located in the 1600 block of Mahoning Avenue on the West Side, made a frantic call to police about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday concerning two male intruders in the building. The employees were still visibly shaken and one man still had the split lip and bruised face from the altercation with the men.
An employee, who did not wish to give her name, said employees entered the store, heard noises in the basement and noticed boxes of merchandise stacked by the front door. She said they were confused at first but assumed the landlord had come to the business to work in the basement.
The woman said the male employee went to the basement to see who was making the noise and was jumped by one of the unidentified burglars.
She said a fight ensued between the two men, but a second man emerged from hiding and helped overpower the male employee.
The woman said one of the intruders, during the melee, said they had to break into the store because it is Christmastime. The men ran off after the skirmish, and police are investigating.
Little more than 24 hours before the reported break-in, agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency were at the building.
Special Agent Erik Cochanowski said the DEA had been in the area conducting multiple searches, but he would not say what the agents were looking to find. He did say that there were no arrests made.
Store employees confirmed law enforcement officials left with some merchandise, though they would not say what that merchandise was.