Couple pleads in burglary, chase

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A couple who police say broke into a shed in March and led Austintown police on a short chase each entered guilty pleas to three charges Wednesday.

Anthony Direnzo, 45, and Jennifer Kozic, 36, each pleaded guilty to felony charges of breaking and entering, failure to comply and theft.

Jennifer Kozic was sentenced to eight months in prison and also given a four-year sentence for a probation violation.

Prosecutors are recommending a sentence of 18 months for Direnzo. He is on house arrest until his sentencing in December.

Reports said the pair broke into a shed on Signature Drive in the early morning and loaded a piece of lawn equipment into a van. The homeowner followed them and updated dispatchers on where they were at, until police managed to stop the van in a parking lot on Westchester Square. The two took off running and each were caught after a short chase.

Kozic is on probation after serving a sentence handed down in 2011 for burglary, receiving stolen property, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and two counts of trafficking OxyContin. Police say she was involved in a ring with her brothers who committed several burglaries in Parkman, Boardman, Hubbard and Columbiana in 2009 and 2010.