43
Bristolville man, 18, indicted in murder and armed robbery of Warren man, Cortland armed robbery
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
Austin T. Burke, 18, will be arraigned today after being indicted Monday on aggravated murder and aggravated robbery charges in the June 12 death of Brandon Sample and the armed robbery of a Cortland pizza shop.
Burke, of Miller South Road in Bristolville, was arrested June 20 in Cortland, the same day murder charges were filed against him in Newton Falls Municipal Court.
His arraignment will be before Judge Andrew Logan of Trumbull County Common Pleas court. If convicted, Burke could get a life prison sentence but not the death penalty.
Burke’s indictment reveals for the first time that police believe that Burke killed Sample while committing an armed robbery against him. Burke is also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in Sample’s death.
Burke’s felony conviction is an aggravated burglary with a firearm he committed at age 16 in Girard. Police said the burglary involved theft of several guns from a home in the city.
Friends of Burke said he got out of a state juvenile detention facility in December after serving two years in the Girard case.
Burke is also charged with separate crimes associated with the pizza shop robbery – another count of aggravated robbery, being a felon in possession of a firearm and tampering with evidence. Burke is in the county jail in lieu of $1 million bond.
He is accused of killing Sample, 22, of Garfield Drive Northeast. Sample was reported missing by his family June 12.
Sample’s body was found in a remote area of Bristol Township on June 15. Warren police detectives were aided in the search for Sample’s body by information they received from people knowledgeable about the case, Sheriff Paul Monroe said.
The indictment accuses Burke of the armed robbery of the Pizza Joe’s restaurant on West Main Street in Cortland on June 20, a short time before he was arrested on the murder charge in an apartment near the pizza shop.
Restaurant employees said a man with a gun and a mask robbed the restaurant about 10:30 p.m. June 20.
Cortland Police Chief Tom Andrews issued a news release Monday saying a witness saw Burke leaving the pizza shop after the robbery. He saw Burke run toward Grove Drive. At the same time, the county 911 center told police that Burke, who was already charged in the murder before the robbery, had been tracked through his cellphone to the downtown Cortland area.
Burke was found in an partment complex across from Pizza Joe’s a short time later.
“I’m proud of how quickly the officers took control of a very confusing and potentially dangerous situation,” Andrews said.