Burglary suspect gets stuck in steps

Staff report

campbell

A man suspected in a burglary at a house on Walter Street got stuck in the basement steps and had to be freed by the fire department, a police report says.

Todd J. Moffie, 34, of Mathews Road, Boardman, is charged with burglary and possession of drugs. Police said they found a bag of suspected marijuana in his pants pocket.

Moffie was arraigned Friday in Campbell Municipal Court and was in Mahoning County jail in lieu of $800 bond on the burglary charge and $250 bond on the drug charge, the city clerk of courts office said.

Police said they got a call from the homeowner around 3 a.m., and she told them someone had just broken into her basement.

Police arrived to find her waiting on the porch and Moffie downstairs, stuck halfway in the space between two steps, the report says.

Detective Sgt. John Rusnak said he does not know why Moffie decided to try to crawl through the space. There was plenty of room to go around the steps if he wanted to go to another part of the basement, Rusnak pointed out.

Moffie was muddy. There was blood on his mouth, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt or shoes.

Moffie had crawled in through a basement window, knocking over several flower pots, the report said.

Police called the fire department to help free him. The fire department said it used pry bars to loosen the steps.

He will appear in court again next Friday for a preliminary hearing and a pre-trial.