City man caught breaking into local barn

Sep 24, 2013 9:02 AM

Bill Tipple

A city man was arrested after he was caught breaking into a barn on Stockyard Road just east of Township Road 56 Monday morning around 11:30.

The Logan County Sheriff's Office reports that Aaron Mertz, 33, of 214 Pratt Street, Apt. 4, took items from the property.

A female witness confronted Mertz.

He said he pulled onto the property because his vehicle overheated.

The female then got his license number and contacted the sheriff's office.

Mertz then drove away.

The Bellefontaine Police Department stopped his vehicle on Park Street near East Columbus Avenue.

The property owner noticed that several items were missing and moved in the barn.

Mertz was then charged with felony counts of theft and breaking and entering along with a misdemeanor count of trespass.

He was lodged in the Logan County Jail.

In late August, Mertz was arrested after he allegedly stole jewelry from a 92-year-old rural Huntsville woman.

Mertz and Christina Cox, 29, at large, knocked on the victim's door and asked to use the restroom.

Mertz told the victim that he trimmed bushes at her residence last month.

The victim became suspicious when Mertz and Cox were out of her view for an extended time.

After Mertz and Cox left, the woman noticed the theft.

The victim gave deputies a detailed description of the suspects and their vehicle.

Authorities then issued warrants for their arrest.

The Bellefontaine Police Department found Mertz and Cox at 312 North Detroit Street.

Both of them were charged with a fifth-degree felony count of theft from the elderly and lodged in the Logan County Jail.

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