Austintown man arrested for breaking in, cooking pasta

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

A township man faces a felony charge, accused of breaking into an Italian restaurant and cooking himself some pasta.

Gary F. Robertson, 68, of Kirk Road, is charged with breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony offense. He is scheduled to appear in Mahoning County Area Court here today for arraignment.

Township police responded to Chad Anthony’s Italian Grille on Mahoning Avenue about 11 p.m. Monday after an alarm went off, according to a police report.

Police reportedly found Robertson inside the building, near a screen door that had been forced open and knocked off its hinges.

“Further inspection of the interior of the business revealed that the suspect had removed cooked pasta from a refrigerator and turned on a deep fryer and was in the process of cooking the pasta,” the report states.

Robertson reportedly told police that “he found the door open and was hungry.”

“He stated that he was hungry, and was merely cooking himself dinner. He continued to state that he did nothing wrong, and to ‘give him a break,’” police reported.

Nothing else in the building was found to be missing.

Robertson was taken to the Mahoning County jail.

Mahoning County court records show that Robertson was previously convicted of driving under the influence and burglary.