Saturday, March 14, 2015
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
A city prosecutor said Friday that a cross belonging to a retired priest, which people who were being arraigned are accused of taking, was almost melted down.
The victim was able to retrieve the cross, Dana Lantz said in municipal court, but at a cost of $455 from a Rochester, Pa., scrap business.
Arraigned in the Feb. 19 burglary after being arrested this week on warrants were Nicholas Boerio, 35, and Jennifer Stitzel, 32, both of Youngstown. Judge Elizabeth Kobly set their bond at $75,000 each.
The two are accused of breaking into a home in the 1900 block of Cherry Hill. The homeowner told police he had left the home and returned about 5 p.m. and noticed his garage door was open. The homeowner drove into the garage then noticed the door to the house was splintered, and pieces of it were on the garage floor. He also heard voices inside, reports said.
Reports said someone slammed the door in his face before a man and a woman ran away. The pair had his iPhone, but he was able to track the phone on his iPad and learned that the phone was taken to several addresses, including the Walmart in Boardman and a cellphone store on South Avenue, reports said.
The man was able to identify the suspects through photo lineups but still tried to track down the cross, which Lantz said was given to the man when he was ordained. A local pawn shop said it had bought the cross and other items for $200, but it was shipped to a place in Rochester, Pa., where it would be melted down.
The man was able to contact that facility March 5, reports said. They told him he could have it back for $455 and sold it back to him.
Lantz said both Boerio and Stitzel have extensive criminal records for theft and burglary offenses.