01/15/08

Tracks in the snow have led to a suspect in an early morning break-in at C & E Hardware in The Plains, according to Athens County Sheriff Vern Castle.

Deputies responded to a call at about 6:45 a.m. today that the front glass at the mall at 70 North Plains Road had been broken and the glass doors to C & E were also broken.

Deputies followed foot prints to Main Street, where they found four narrow tire tracks, which they were able to follow to a LeMaster Road residence, where they found the go cart that made them.

A suspect at the home has been taken into custody on a parole violation, but he has not yet been charged in the break-in, so his hame is not being released. Shoes that matched footprints at the scene and other evidence were also seized.

Sheriff Castle said that Deputies John Deak, Brice Fick and Aaron Maynard’s quick action in locating and following the tracks before traffic erased them is responsible for the quick solving of this case.

Contact: Chief Deputy David Malawista