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3 suspects arraigned on burglary charges in Struthers
By jeanne starmack
struthers
Three burglary suspects were caught by police early Friday as they were breaking into garages and sheds in the city’s 2nd Ward, police said.
The three were arraigned in Struthers Municipal Court later Friday morning and taken to Mahoning County jail in lieu of posting $7,600 bond each, or 10 percent of $76,000 each.
They were charged with breaking and entering, obstructing official business, receiving stolen property and failure to comply with a police order.
The are Carlos Ruben Contreras, 23, of North Garland Avenue, Youngstown; Larry Joe Taylor, 55, Lansdowne Boulevard, Youngstown; and Harold William Michaels, 37, Dean Avenue, Youngstown.
A police report said three officers caught the men with the help of two witnesses who reported their whereabouts.
One of the witnesses, Dan Ardale of Elm Street, is a former Struthers reserve police officer. He told The Vindicator he was coming home from a friend’s house around 3 a.m.
“I was standing on my porch. It was pouring down rain, and these three dudes come popping out from my neighbor’s yard,” he said.
He said they told him they were just cutting through the yard, but he was suspicious and followed them.
He said that when he called police, the men were at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Eighth Street.
Police Chief Tim Roddy said the officers didn’t see the suspects right away, so they waited.
He said they eventually saw Taylor and Michaels walking with a bicycle and some yard tools.
Those two were quickly caught, he said, and police tracked Contreras to where he was hiding in a garage on Lincoln Avenue.
Mayor Terry Stocker said he believes the men were caught because of good police work. He also said the episode underscores the importance of block-watch groups.
Roddy said police weren’t sure Friday how many residences were burglarized.
The ward has a block watch. Ardale does not belong to it, he said, and neither does the second witness, who could not be reached to comment.
Elaine Ginnetti, the block-watch president, said that even though the witnesses are not members, they served the community by reporting the suspects.
“We are trying to raise awareness that every city needs eyes and ears beyond what [police] departments can do,” she said.
Ginnetti, owner of Ginnetti’s Market on Midlothian Boulevard, said the group is trying to grow from its present 23 members.
Michaels, Taylor and Contreras will be back in court March 8 for their preliminary hearings.
Police said they are not linked to a rash of car break-ins in the ward in the early hours of Feb. 18.