Niles police hope arrest will halt burglaries

By Ed Runyan | June 9, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

NILES

Police are hoping the arrest of a 25-year-old Niles man in connection with a Tuesday afternoon burglary on Morris Place will put a halt to the recent rash of Niles and Howland Township burglaries.

Andrew Mullins, of Battles Avenue on Niles’ south side, appeared in Niles Municipal Court Wednesday on a felony charge of complicity to burglary. He is being held in the Trumbull County jail in lieu of $10,000 bond. He entered no plea.

If convicted, he could spend eight years in prison.

Police said they received a phone call from an alert neighbor who saw a red Chevy Cavalier drop off two men at the home on Morris Place.

The two kicked open the front door at about 12:40 p.m. and later came out the back, one of them carrying something under his arm, police said.

A Niles police officer stopped the Cavalier a short distance away and arrested Mullins. Police searched the Kennedy Park area near the home that was burglarized but did not locate the two males on foot.

Police have, however, issued an arrest warrant for a 31-year-old Niles man who police believe was involved in the robbery, said Niles Det. Dan Adkins.

Niles has had 24 burglaries since the beginning of April, a large number for the city. Many have fit a pattern that involves individuals knocking on doors of homes, then breaking in if no one answers the door.

Adkins said Tuesday’s robbery was similar enough to the pattern to make them believe the individuals involved in Tuesday’s burglary also committed some of the others in Niles and Howland.

Howland Township Police Chief Paul Monroe said Howland had experienced about 20 burglaries between April 1 and May 23.

Adkins credits the alert neighbor who called in the burglary for helping police catch Mullins.