Church ransacked

Church ransacked

YOUNGSTOWN

Police reports say a South Side church was ransacked sometime within the past 10 days.

Officers were called Sunday morning to Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, 702 Cambridge Ave., where a woman associated with the church said she entered and found the building ransacked. Missing are eight speakers or amplifiers, a riding lawn mower and an industrial-size sink and dishwasher. A back window was broken out, reports said. The woman told police the last time she was at the church Oct. 24, it was secured, reports said.

Charged with theft

NILES

A Youngstown man charged with theft at the Eastwood Mall Sears store was hoping for a “bargain” when police were adding up the value of the coats he was accused of stealing.

Michael H. Tomlin, 31, of Wellington Avenue, is accused of grabbing two armfuls of coats Wednesday afternoon and running toward the front exit. He was detained by loss-prevention personnel when Niles police arrived. As store personnel added up the price of the merchandise, it began to get close to $1,000, the threshold for a charge being elevated to a felony.

That caused Tomlin to argue — apparently in hopes the charge would be dropped to a misdemeanor — that the sale price of the coats should be used, Niles police said on their Facebook page. Acting Judge Daniel Thomas set a personal recognizance bond of $2,500 during Tomlin’s arraignment last week to the felony charge.

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