Man found with murder victim's car arraigned
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
The man who was arrested after being caught with the car belonging to an elderly homicide victim is in the Mahoning County jail on $100,000 bond.
Joseph Faunda, 44, was arraigned in municipal court before Magistrate Anthony Sertick on a charge of receiving stolen property. Faunda was arrested Monday afternoon on the charge by detectives investigating the slaying of 84-year-old Mykola Iwaniuk.
Iwaniuk was found dead in his home in the 1700 block of Oakwood Avenue on the West Side about 5:30 a.m. Jan. 21. A newspaper carrier called police after she noticed Iwaniuk’s door was open and all the lights in the home were on. Authorities on the scene said Iwaniuk had been dead more than a day and he had suffered several blunt-force injuries to the back of his head.
A police report said informants told police Faunda was seen in Iwaniuk’s car, which was found in Calvary Cemetery a couple of hours after Iwaniuk was found in his home.
Assistant Prosecutor Shelli Freeze asked Magistrate Anthony Sertick for the high bond, saying that the vehicle he is accused of driving belonged to a man who was later killed.
So far, no charges have been filed in the death of Iwaniuk. Chief of Detectives Capt. Brad Blackburn said Wednesday that investigators still are pursuing leads in the case.
Faunda asked for a court-appointed lawyer. He said he had worked from October until Jan. 16 at a Trumbull County metal supply company but quit because he hurt his shoulder.
“I had to walk off my job,” Faunda said.
Magistrate Sertick did appoint a lawyer to represent him.
Municipal court records show Faunda was found guilty in 2000 of charges of theft and assault and in 2001 of disorderly conduct. Faunda also had a theft charge in Struthers Municipal Court in 2000.
Neighbors told police shortly after Iwaniuk’s body was found that they had seen his car leaving his driveway late Jan. 19. Police reports said Faunda initially told the informants that he had found the car “running” on Evanston Avenue in Youngstown, but then said his girlfriend gave him the vehicle, and it had a television in the back seat when he got into the car.