2 suspects held in South Toledo burglary

1/3/2009

In South Toledo where a series of break-ins were reported at gas stations and convenience stores recently, an arrest has been made in one such incident on Tuesday.

Todd Dittman, 41, of 318 Mayberry St. and Billy Watts, 32, of 4917 Haddington Drive were arraigned yesterday in Toledo Municipal Court. They were arrested Wednesday in the burglary of Castle Sunoco, 801 South Byrne Rd., and theft of cigarettes.

Judge Timothy Kuhlman ordered the pair to be held in the Lucas County jail pending preliminary hearings in the court Friday.

Up to a dozen other nighttime break-ins were reported in South Toledo in the last month, Toledo police property Lt. David Schmidt said.

Mr. Watts was charged with burglary and with breaking and entering - both in the Tuesday incident. He was being held in the jail yesterday in lieu of $12,500 bond, according to court records.

Mr. Dittman was charged with breaking and entering and with nonsupport of dependents. He had a number of outstanding warrants and was being held in lieu of $5,000 bond, the court records said.

The lieutenant said a video recording led police to the pair and then to the Mayberry address, where they were taken into custody shortly after noon Wednesday and charged in connection to the Tuesday break-in at the Castle Sunoco.

Toledo police responded to a burglary alarm at the Castle Sunoco at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and found a surveillance video, which captured the incident, police said.

The tape showed a dark-green car entering the parking lot, a man getting out, and smashing the store's front door with a sledgehammer.

The tape then showed the man entering the store, jumping the front counter, and filling a trash bag with Marlboro cigarettes before leaving, according to the report.

Contact Mike Sigov at:

sigov@theblade.com,

or 419-724-6089.