Whole Darn bust may lead to more crime spree charges

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May 17, 2012

Whole Darn bust may lead to more crime spree charges

By Mary Spicer Meadville Tribune The Meadville Tribune Thu May 17, 2012, 07:00 AM EDT

MEADVILLE — Two Meadville men face a total of 40-plus years in prison and more than $100,000 in fines for unsuccessfully attempting to break into The Whole Darn Thing sub shop in downtown Meadville on Wednesday morning while police search for a connection to a string of other recent burglaries in the vicinity of Market Square.

Timothy James Cornell, 39, of 439 Pine St., and Walter John Cornell, 35, of 178 Boynton St., were arraigned Wednesday afternoon before Magisterial District Judge Michael Rossi, acting on behalf of Meadville Area Magisterial District Judge William Chisholm.

According to court papers filed by Meadville Police Department Detective Sgt. Eric Young, Timothy Cornell allegedly attempted to commit a burglary by smashing the restaurant’s drive-through window on the south side of the building with a rock to gain entry and conspired with Walter Cornell to commit the crime. He has been charged with criminal conspiracy to commit burglary, criminal attempt to commit burglary and criminal mischief.

Walter Cornell was charged with criminal conspiracy to commit burglary and criminal attempt to commit burglary.

According to Meadville Police Chief Dave Stefanucci, the attempt was foiled by a fortunate misunderstanding.

The story began to unfold shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday when police passing by on a routine patrol found the broken window and called owner Christine Jordan, who immediately came to the scene. A review of tapes from the shop’s security cameras was soon under way.

“We looked at the video and saw Walter and Timothy breaking the window,” Stefanucci said. “Right after they broke the window, within a minute or a minute-and-a-half, police were seen driving by,” he continued, noting that although those officers happened to be on routine patrol, the suspects immediately fled the scene. “They must have thought we got the call,” Stefanucci said.

According to Stefanucci, Walter was picked up and questioned soon after the incident occurred and Timothy was arrested later Wednesday morning.

Following the arraignment, Timothy was committed to Crawford County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail and Walter was committed in lieu of $25,000 bail. Preliminary hearings have been scheduled for May 25.

Just one of several?

The police investigation into a connection between this incident and a string of other burglaries continues, Stefanucci said Wednesday night.

The sequence of events, which may or may not be connected, began between 9 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday, when a rock was used to break the front window of the state liquor store in the Downtown Mall, the store was entered and $347.94 in bottled liquor was removed. According to Stefanucci, a rock was also thrown through a window at the Big Lots store next door, but the store was not entered.

Monday night, Meadville’s historic Market House was apparently entered by breaking through a window on the building’s south side. Once inside, an individual or individuals apparently broke into The Market Grille and took the cash register. Returning to the main room, they took the cash register from the bakery, Make Room for Dessert, Stefanucci said. Both cash registers are still missing.

The same night, Sandy’s ArtWorks was broken into through its rear door, which has a large window and opens onto Market Square at the rear of the Market House. According to Stefanucci, the cash register was pried open and cash was removed.

No merchandise appears to have been removed from any location. The cash register used by the central cashier at the Market House, which had been emptied at the close of the business day and left with its cash drawer sitting open, was untouched.

- Anyone with information is asked to call Meadville Police Department at 724-6100.

Mary Spicer can be reached at 724-7370 or by email at mspicer@meadvilletribune.com.

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President Barack Obama has suddenly found himself mired in three scandals: The Republican anger over the attacks in Benghazi; the news that the IRS has targeted TEA Party groups; and the news that the Department of Justice had subpoenaed the phone records of journalists suspected of receiving leaked information. How can the president fix these issues?

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