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Boardman man holds car break-in suspects at gunpoint
BOARDMAN
When Kenneth Veneroso, 49, got up to use the bathroom shortly after 1:30 a.m. Thursday, he took a look at the security cameras he has installed at his Devonshire Drive condominium.
“I have motion lights, and they clicked on,” he said.
Veneroso didn’t bother to get dressed.
“I was in my underwear,” he recalled.
When he went outside, he saw two people ransacking his neighbor’s vehicle. Although Veneroso didn’t have his cellphone on him, he had his gun. So, he grabbed it and told the suspects to lie on the ground.
He yelled for help, and his fiancee called 911, according to his account and a police report. In the meantime, one of suspects ran away, but Veneroso held the other suspect at gunpoint until township police officers arrived.
At the scene, police arrested Jose Castro Jr., 17, of Cleveland Street, Youngstown, on charges of theft, criminal trespass, criminal tools and obstructing official business. They also cited him for a curfew violation.
According to a police report, officers also checked the area and found several other vehicles on Devonshire, located off Glenwood Avenue, had been ransacked.
Castro’s case will be handled in Mahoning County juvenile court.
Police said Thursday they are following up on leads they have on the other suspect.
The incident marked the second time this week someone in the township decided to intervene when they saw a crime occurring.
On Tuesday, a witness confronted two women after she saw them shoplifting from Sears, according to a police report. Police recovered approximately $1,500 worth of merchandise at the scene and arrested the two suspects.
Reached by The Vindicator on Thursday, Veneroso explained why he decided to confront the car break-in suspects.
Veneroso said this was not the first time similar activity has happened in his neighborhood. He lives in a four-unit condo where women live alone in the other units, he said. He lives with his fiancee in the fourth.
“That’s the whole thing. We’ve had some break-ins in the past,” he said. “That’s what we try to do, look out for each other.”
Township police, however, caution the public not to confront possible suspects.
“It’s always better to be a good witness,” said Detective Glenn Patton. “We never want to see anyone get hurt.”
He noted, for example, while a witness might see one or two suspects at the scene, there could be three of four people there.
“You don’t know what you’re up against,” he said.
Given the circumstances of the incident on Devonshire, Patton said what Veneroso did is “not something they would recommend.”
As for the issue of vehicle break-ins, Patton said police have received reports of that kind of activity in the north side of the township.
“We have been addressing it. We’ve made several good arrests recently, and we’re hoping this activity is going to decrease,” he said.
On Sunday, for example, police arrested a suspect in connection with car break-ins and burglaries on Arlene, Meadowbrook, Gertrude and Leighton avenues. Cory Gooch, 27, of Indianola Avenue is charged with three counts of receiving stolen property in that case.
Patton urged the public to lock their vehicles, make sure they bring their car keys inside with them and keep valuables out of plain sight.