Man who broke into homes, cooked meals to be sentenced Aug. 16

YOUNGSTOWN — A homeless man accused of breaking into several homes to shower and cook meals for himself pleaded guilty today in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to three counts of burglary and two counts of breaking and entering.

Jacob Merchant, 33, will be sentenced Aug. 16 by Judge Lou D'Apolito, who accepted his pleas.

Merchant was arrested by Youngstown police in January after several homes on the South Side were broken into. In the homes, he would shower and also cook and leave the homes a mess before he left.

In one case, a woman who came home from work found Merchant in her shower, police said.