Sunday, January 27, 2002
Career criminals taking their show on the road ... to Tiffin
By Ryan Good
Staff Writerrgood@advertiser-tribune.com
Local law enforcement agencies have had their hands full in the last year with out-of-town criminals preying on the area.
"The small towns are seen as easier pickings," said Tiffin Police Chief David LaGrange. "There are some career criminals that prefer to take their show on the road."
In June 2001, three Kentucky residents, Tony L. and Lori Yonts and Brian Maggard, were caught passing counterfeit money at local garage sales. Investigators said the trio used the classified section of the Advertiser-Tribune to locate the sales.
Lori Yonts was sentenced to two days in jail in Tiffin Municipal Court. Maggard was also given a two-day jail sentence in municipal court. Tony Yonts pleaded guilty to charges levied against him in U.S. District Court in Toledo and is awaiting sentencing.
"We're not that far from larger cities," said Sheriff Tom Steyer. "There is no boundaries when it comes to criminals."
Steyer said he and the other local law enforcement agencies are working on a getting a computer system up and running so information can be more easily shared on known criminals.
In July 2001, Youngstown residents Deborah Howe and David Pishok robbed the Gallery, 215 Riverside Drive, with a starter's pistol. Both were caught the same day in Fostoria trying to get away. Pishok was sentenced to 21 years in prison, while Howe got 16 years behind bars.
County Prosecutor Ken Egbert Jr. said in the course of Pishok's court proceedings that Pishok has been in and out of jail for various offenses since 1974.
LaGrange said local officers do have some advantages.
"One of the advantages is the officers do know the people," he said, explaining that police are in regular contact with local criminals. So when an officer comes across someone he doesn't recognize, he becomes more suspicious, LaGrange explained
When pulling over an out-of-state plate or stopping a person they don't recognize, "the officers tend to be more suspicious," LaGrange said.
Much of the local problems law enforcement officials have with drugs don't originate in the county either.
"Our drug deals come mostly out of the Detroit and Toledo areas," Steyer said.
In November 2001, three Cleveland-area men were apprehended for breaking into Jeffrey Jewelry in Tiffin and making off with large amounts of merchandise.
Two of the men, Roscoe Boyd and William Sims, entered guilty pleas last week and are awaiting sentencing in common pleas court. A third man police believe was involved, Selvin Cunningham of Parma, was caught by Akron Police a few weeks ago when he fell out of the back of a van with a stolen ATM machine, investigators said.
"They went to areas where they knew they had to get away," LaGrange said of the jewelry store break-in and subsequent car chase. "If they're from out of town, there aren't a lot of ways to go."
Making the connection between an out-of-town criminal and a local crime isn't always easy.
"It could be word of mouth," Steyer explained. "They have to have some connection I would think," he said.
In December 2001, two men entered the main branch of The Old Fort Banking Co. in Old Fort and robbed a teller of $5,660, authorities said. After a $2,000 reward was offered by the FBI for their arrest and conviction, Brandon Blanton and Arthur Martin of Rocky Ridge and Michael Losey, Fremont, were arrested three days after the robbery at a house in Rocky Ridge.
A tip called in to the Seneca County Sheriff's Office alerted authorities to the whereabouts of the trio.
All three were indicted by a federal grand jury and are awaiting further court proceedings in Toledo.
Sheriff's Office Maj. Tim Thwaits said that while working as police chief in Carey, three men caught stealing from Our Lady of Consolation Basilica told him they thought they could get away with it because Carey was a small town.
One of the three was from Fostoria and the other two were not local.
"They planned it in prison," Thwaits said.
Earlier this month Tiffin Police caught two Mansfield men they believe were breaking into cars.
Ryan Nichols and Carl Vasquez Jr. were both indicted by a Seneca County Grand Jury for the break-ins and are awaiting further court proceedings.
Police said after the two were arrested that they recovered more items in a warranted search of the suspects' car than what was stolen in Tiffin.
Both LaGrange and Steyer said that local law enforcement agencies are far from helpless in protecting the public against criminals who travel.
"Our officers coordinate very well," LaGrange said, explaining how officers are more wary of suspicious vehicles around main routes in and out of the city.
Steyer said deputies are more wary of "vehicles moving at night time, especially if it's an out-of-county plate." Sometimes, "they make a traffic stop for a violation and find guns and drugs," he added.