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Austintown Police recover stolen copper
Investigation is ongoing; no one charged
By Elise Franco
Austintown
Township police say they know who is responsible for a rash of copper thefts over the past several months.
Capt. Bryan Kloss said Detective Jordan Yacovone, with help from Boardman police, identified three men and two women who they say stole copper from 22 homes in Austintown since Aug. 25.
“Detective Yacovone has been working diligently on several leads to these numerous break-ins,” Kloss said.
He said the investigation is ongoing and more suspects could be identified in the next few days.
Though no one was charged as of Tuesday night, Kloss said each will be charged soon.
“Ultimately, this investigation will lead to charges, but we’re not sure exactly when they’ll be filed,” he said.
Kloss said Austintown police were able to recover some of the stolen copper thanks to assistance from Boardman police.
He said detectives conducted searches of several Boardman residences related to another case and found evidence of the copper thefts.
He said most of the thefts link back to the group of suspects, though it’s not likely they were committing the break-ins as a group.
“They went out as individuals, but the five or more people doing this are connected,” he said.
Kloss said the suspects were targeting vacant homes, ones with for-sale signs or high grass.
“It’s important to identify these suspects because of the damage they were causing to these homes,” he said.