Police: Two Men Caught Trying To Break Into A House

Two men were arrested and charged with attempted burglary after neighbors spotted them lurking near a vacant house Sunday afternoon on Pinehurst Drive, Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Chief John Gielink said.

Police were called to the neighborhood in Mentor-on-the-Lake at about 1 p.m.

When officers arrived, they saw the two men walking toward each other. One man was walking away from a bicycle that was now lying on the tree lawn, Gielink said. Next to the bike was a crowbar.

Both men seeumed to be under the influence of a drug, Gielink said, because they stared blankly and were slow to respond when spoken to.

The first man claimed to not have any identification on him, at first. But when the officer asked him to pull out his wallet, the policeman saw his driver’s license, identifying him as 29-year-old Christopher Marria.

Marria told police that he did not have a bicycle.

Upon checking Marria through the computer, it was determined that he had an outstanding arrest warrant through Wickliffe Police Department, Gielink said.

The police officer searched Marria and found a metal spoon and a syringe on him, Gielink said.

The second man was 35-year-old Michael Thomas. Both Thomas and Marria live in Mentor-on-the-Lake.

When police searched Thomas, they found a screwdriver and a metal pair of clippers, Gielink said.

Upon checking, it was determined that Thomas had an outstanding warrant through Eastlake Police Department.

At about 1:30 p.m. the same day, another resident came to the Mentor-on-the-Lake police station and reported that he thought that someone tried to break into a house on Melody Lane, which is nearby where Thomas and Marria were arrested.

When officers responded, they observed fresh pry marks on a side door. Evidence was collected to compare the damage to the door with the tools in possession of the two men.

Marria was arraigned Monday in Mentor Municipal Court on charges of attempted burglary and possession of drug-abuse instruments and paraphernalia.

Thomas has not been arraigned yet but he was charged with counts of attempted burglary and possession of criminal tools.