Man indicted in chase, crash

Staff report

youngstown

A man who led police on a chase through two busy South Side streets and crashed his car into a pole was indicted Thursday by a Mahoning County grand jury.

Matthew Koziorynsky, 18, of Cook Avenue faces two counts of robbery and failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.

The case was presented directly to the grand jury. Koziorynsky is accused of robbing Mario’s Pizza, 2072 E. Midlothian Blvd., about 2:20 p.m. Dec. 3.

A police officer responding to the robbery call spotted a pickup truck that matched the description of the one used in the robbery, but when he tried to pull it over, the pickup sped away.

They sped up Midlothian Boulevard across South Avenue to Market Street, where Koziorynsky turned left into Boardman before losing control and hitting a telephone pole in the 6000 block of Market Street.

Investigators with the Ohio State Highway Patrol estimated that Koziorynsky was traveling at 90 mph when he crashed, which is double the posted speed limit.

Employees at the pizza shop told police a man wearing a mask and a hooded sweatshirt came in and demanded money. Although no weapon was ever shown, his hands were in his pockets the entire time as if he had a weapon.

After the pickup crashed, police found cash inside and under the vehicle as well as a large kitchen knife.

Koziorynsky was treated for injuries at St. Elizabeth Health Center before he was arraigned in municipal court. He has been in the county jail since his arrest.

He will be arraigned before Judge Maureen Sweeney next week.

Court records show that this year, he faces pending misdemeanor counts in county court in Canfield of abusing harmful intoxicants and passing bad checks, filed by the Beaver Township Police Department; and two misdemeanor theft counts in county court in Boardman that were filed by Boardman police.