Four blame drugs for burglary, beating

October 2, 2018 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Four people who were sentenced Monday for a home invasion and beating of an elderly East Midlothian Boulevard man earlier this year blamed their drug addictions for the crime.

Melissa Dimuzio, 42 and Justin Pitts, were each sentenced in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to five years in prison by Judge John Durkin on charges of aggravated burglary. John Wagner, 31 and his father Russell Wagner, 38, were sentenced to three years each in prison for aggravated burglary.

Dimuzio’s daughter Alyssa, 21, was earlier sentenced to four years of prison in the case.

The elderly man who was hospitalized after a gun safe and his truck were taken from his home asked Judge Durkin to ensure they get drug treatment but also said he hoped they are all punished.

“I think it was a cruel and vicious thing they did, and they should be punished justly for that,” the victim said.

Assistant Prosecutor Nick Brevetta said that the Dimuzios stayed with the victim for more than a year and they knew he had cash and guns so they set him up to be robbed Jan. 23. Brevetta said Melissa Dimuzio was the originator of the plot but her lawyer, Donna McCollum, blamed her daughter Alyssa for coming up with the plan.

Brevetta said the burglary took place because all of the defendants were in the throes of a drug addiction and needed money to feed their habit. He said though a lot of attention is paid to opiate addicts and their treatment, not enough attention is given to the crimes some of them commit so they can continue to buy drugs. Brevetta said when the victim cleaned out the room the Dimuzios were staying in, he found discarded needles and empty paper bags that were used to carry drugs.

“Because of their addiction and unwillingness to get off this drug, they hurt him [the defendant],” Brevetta said.

All four defendants apologized and said they were acting because of their addictions.

“It really was drugs,” John Wagner said. “Drugs make me do stupid things.”

The defendants have all been cooperative with police since they were arrested, Brevetta said, and are trying to get some of the victim’s property back.