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Man gets 4 years in showering burglar case
By Joe Gorman
YOUNGSTOWN
Jacob Merchant told a judge Wednesday it was anger that led him to trash the houses on the South Side he was breaking into in January – houses where he cooked food he brought with him and often used the shower.
Mahoning County Common Pleas Judge Lou D’Apolito sentenced Merchant to four years in prison on three counts of burglary and two counts of breaking and entering.
Judge D’Apolito acknowledged that Merchant has mental-health issues and was homeless, but he said invading someone’s home and damaging it is inexcusable.
“When someone owns their house, that’s their castle, and when you destroy that house, you leave a lasting scar on that person,” Judge D’Apolito said.
Merchant was arrested in January by city police after he was found showering in someone’s home by the homeowner. Police said he would break into homes with his own food, cook that food, then use the shower to clean up but he would leave a mess behind. He would take as much as he could carry as well.
Detectives concentrated on egg cartons he left behind and found out they were sold at only one gas station on the South Side. The pair went there and watched hours of surveillance video before spotting Merchant buying the eggs. They printed pictures from the video and emailed them to patrol officers, who instantly emailed back that they knew who the man was.
One of the homeowners told Judge D’Apolito that she understands if someone breaks in and they are hungry or cold. But she said she wanted to know why he left a trail of destruction in his wake.
“I just want an answer for all the destruction he did in my home,” she said.
The judge asked Merchant, who had a severely abscessed tooth that makes it difficult for him to talk, why he left behind such a mess.
Merchant said it was drugs, alcohol and anger that led him to destroy things.
“Were you angry at life?” the judge asked him.
“Yes,” Merchant replied.
Merchant did apologize for the break-ins.