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Elderly woman arraigned on burglary charge
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
A gray-haired woman with trouble walking remains in the Trumbull County jail after her arraignment Monday on a felony burglary charge.
Cecelia E. Markwell, 68, is charged with breaking into her neighbor’s house and stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of televisions, tools, clothes and boxes of ceramic tiles.
Even more surprising is that the victim of the burglary, a man, 32, said after discovering his rear window smashed out and property stolen Saturday, he saw his property at Markwell’s yard sale almost directly across the street.
When police responded to Markwell’s house at 1039 Mason St. NW about 11:15 a.m. Saturday, the victim had confronted Markwell and was in the process of recovering his stolen items. Police arrested Markwell after she admitted to police she committed the burglary, according to a police report written by patrol officers.
Police said another neighbor saw Markwell on the victim’s porch Friday “looking through the windows” while the victim was not at home.
Sgt. Joe Kistler, supervisor for the detective bureau of the Warren Police Department, said he is suspicious as to whether Markwell committed the burglary alone, but she admitted to the crime, and Kistler has no plans to investigate it further.
One of the suspicious things is that she readily admitted to the crime, Kistler said.
The items listed as stolen include a 42-inch flat-screen TV valued at $1,000, a 32-inch TV valued at $250, $1,000 in baby clothes, $200 in tools in a toolbox, a power drill, 10 boxes of ceramic tiles and $3,000 in men’s clothes.
The victim said he did not get back nearly all of his property.
A neighbor, however, said it’s clear to her, based on what she saw Saturday, that Markwell agreed to take the punishment for the crime to protect someone else.
“I’ll take the rap. I’m not worried about it. I won’t get any charges. I’m too old,” the neighbor said she heard Markwell tell the victim when he confronted her.
The neighbor said Markwell typically moves around the neighborhood in a wheelchair but wasn’t using it the previous couple of days. She had a garage sale for about four days ending Saturday, the neighbor said.
When Kistler was asked about the neighbor’s suggestion that Markwell was confessing to prevent someone else from being charged, he said it would be “up to the prosecutor” to guard against her getting a light sentence because of her age and health.
A not-guilty plea was entered Monday in Warren Municipal Court for Markwell to a charge punishable by up to 18 months in prison. Judge Thomas Gysegem set bond of $1,500, and Markwell remained in jail Monday afternoon.
Markwell appears to have been convicted of one misdemeanor crime in Trumbull County – failing to file and pay taxes in Niles in 2003, according to Niles and Warren municipal court records.
Saturday was the first time Markwell has been in the county jail, according to jail records.