By ED RUNYAN

Staff writer

YOUNGSTOWN — A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted Michael D. Carkido, 51, of Bishop Woods Court, Poland, on theft in office, a third-degree felony, for allegedly misusing township funds while serving as Boardman Police Department mechanic.

Carkido’s indictment came as a direct presentment to a Mahoning County grand jury, meaning it bypassed the process of filing a charge in a lower court and having the lower court judge determine whether to bind the case over to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office investigated Carkido’s actions as fleet mechanic at the request of Boardman Police Chief Todd Werth on March 12, according to Vindicator files.

An affidavit filed with Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony D’Apolito states that Carkido was placed on leave March 10 after township Road Superintendent Kim Blasco began an internal investigation. Carkido resigned April 18, citing personal and health reasons, according to his resignation letter. Carkido was hired as fleet mechanic in April 2002.

“Once we became aware that there was an issue, we immediately placed him on paid administrative leave. We took away all access to township buildings and resources, and started our investigation right away, and we asked the Sheriff’s Office to investigate possible violations of Ohio law,” Werth said.

The affidavit states that township officials’ suspicions were raised on March 5, when two Eagle Sport tires on Cadillac rims were found in the township’s maintenance garage and an invoice from Goodyear in Boardman showed they were purchased Feb. 25. Those tires are not suitable for any of the vehicles in the township’s fleet.

The affidavit states that Blasco’s financial audit of the period from January to March 2025 showed that multiple purchases were made for items that would not be suitable for any of the township’s vehicles.

Sheriff’s investigator James Ciotti obtained a list of all tires the township purchased in 2024 and all the vehicles those tires would fit; copies of orders from Amazon.com; a copy of the township’s vendor / payee register; a statement for the township credit card through First National Bank for Jan. 24 through March 2; and a list of AutoZone purchases for the same period.

The Amazon orders include two HP laptops, a mini HP desktop computer, a webcam and a Texas Instruments graphing calculator. There also were several Amazon purchases of vehicle parts that would not fit township vehicles, nor would many of the parts purchased at AutoZone.

The investigation showed that at least some of those parts would fit a 2013 Ford F250 Super-Duty Lariat pickup like the one owned by Carkido’s son, according to Vindicator files.

The affidavit states that on March 24, a MCSO sergeant found the pickup truck and noted that it had side mirror lights that were similar to the after-market models purchased on Amazon and delivered to the township addressed to Carkido.

The affidavit states that the Amazon orders also included items like bedroom and bathroom shelving units, phone cases and charging stations, and miscellaneous items. The affidavit states that the AutoZone purchases included oil filters, brake pads and brake rotors for Subaru, Audi and Kia models, none of which the township owns.

The investigation revealed that Carkido runs a side business repairing vehicles, including changing oil, brakes and tires. The investigation revealed that Carkido had been seen using a tire mounting machine in the township garage for wheels that did not belong to any township vehicles.

On March 26, at Ciotti’s request, D’Apolito approved search warrants for Carkido’s home and the vehicles on the premises, including Carkido’s and his son’s pickup trucks. The warrants were executed March 27, and they yielded eight items on the premises that investigators believed Carkido bought using township funds.

Those items included one of the laptops, a welding helmet, manual fluid evacuator, leaf blower, air jack, dual steering stabilizer and 20-pack of 4-foot LED light tubes with 12 remaining.

OTHERS

Also indicted was Charles Ratliff, 84, of Rush Boulevard, on aggravated burglary. The charge relates to an incident in June in which Ratliff is accused of using a ruse involving a woman to break into a high-rise apartment on Market Street in Youngstown and threaten a man with a knife.

He was arrested and later arraigned in Youngstown Municipal Court on aggravated burglary before the case was bound over to a grand jury.

A Youngstown police report stated that the alleged victim said Ratliff forced his way into his apartment and held a knife to him, threatening to stab him. The victim said Ratliff accused him of having a sexual relationship with a woman associated with Ratliff.

A Mahoning County grand jury also indicted the following people:

• Claudia L. Clark, 49, Springfield Road, Poland, theft.

• Talawrence T. Howard, 24, Market Street, felonious assault with a firearm specification.

• India Queener, 34, Rush Boulevard, Boardman, felonious assault.

• Ryan Vasquez, 19, North Brockway Avenue, two counts of felonious assault and one count of misdemeanor child endangering.

• Gabriel F. Ferguson, 19, Devon Avenue, improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.

• Jerome H. Shaughnessy, 53, Burbank Avenue, felonious assault with a three-year firearm specification and five-year “drive-by shooting” specification.

• Alex R. Burson, 36, Silica Road, North Jackson, failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer.

• Alphonso West, 56, Matthews Road, Boardman, felony theft.

• Tristan A. Apinis, 40, Cleveland Street, Salem, three counts of aggravated drug possession, one count of fentanyl-related compound possession and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them — OVI.

• Ryan D. Kulcsar, 38, Oregon Avenue, cocaine possession and operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse or a combination of them — OVI.

• Davieune J. Jackson, 18, Wellington Avenue, tampering with evidence, receiving stolen property and failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer.

• Tyler M. Penwell, 24, Mayfield Avenue, receiving stolen property.

• Samantha S. Young, 31, South Main Street, aggravated drug possession.

• Marc A. Haney, 38, Elm Street, Struthers, aggravated drug possession.

• Jasmine Riddle, no age or address provided, cocaine possession and fentanyl-related compound possession.

• Eghosa Otabor-Omoregie, 19, Nadyne Drive, felonious assault with a firearm specification.

• Amir Hammad, 26, 2240 Hubbard Road, Northeast Ohio Correctional Institution, three counts of harassment with a bodily substance.

The grand jury refused to indict Abigail Rivera.