Sheriff’s office uncovers major fencing operation

YOUNGSTOWN — Search warrants served at Ellsworth and Youngstown homes have uncovered one of the largest fencing operations seen in the area, Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene said today.

During a news conference with Maj. Jeff Allen, Greene said the items seized using search warrants last week helped both his department and others across the region clear up unsolved burglary cases.

Found were stolen landscaping and roofing equipment as well as wide bed trailers and just about everything in between, including generators and air compressors.

Greene and Allen would not say what led investigators to ask for the first warrant, which led to the second — only that they were unprepared for the scope of what they found.

“What it actually turned out to be is one of the biggest fencing operations we have ever seen, at least in the history of the sheriff’s office,” Greene said.

Most of the equipment was found when the first warrant was served at a Diehl Road home in Ellsworth. Information there led investigators to get a warrant that was served Friday at a Coitsville-Hubbard Road in Youngstown. Found there was $10,000 cash and two and a half pounds of marijuana.

Two men at the Ellsworth home are suspects but have not yet been charged and are not yet in custody. Allen said investigators are trying to determine the worth of the goods taken, which would determine what level of felony charge they would be facing.

For the complete story, read Tuesday's Vindicator and Vindy.com