Rittman, Ohio

From the Wooster Daily Record of April 6, 2007

Intruder faces gun Rittman resident holds alleged burglar for police

A burglar allegedly found himself facing a gun during a burglary attempt on Saturday.

Chris Lively, 26, of Front Street, was charged with burglary in an incident in which the homeowner pulled out a gun and called the police, according to the Rittman Police Department.

Lively allegedly entered the West Sunset Street home of William Kenneth McComas, 77, on Saturday afternoon, said Officer Mark Waggy.

McComas was expecting Lively, said interim city manager and former police chief Larry Boggs, reading from the department's records.

Lively had done yard work for McComas over the years, and McComas suspected him of stealing various items from the home, Boggs said.

McComas noticed the thefts occurred while he was out of town, Boggs said. The man decided to set a trap to catch the thief. McComas told Lively he was going away on Saturday but hid in the house with a companion, Boggs said.

McComas locked the doors. Lively allegedly used a key, which he was not authorized to have, to enter, Boggs said.

McComas and his companion confronted Lively when Lively entered the home's office, Boggs said.

McComas pulled out some kind of handgun, Boggs said, and used it to hold Lively until the police arrived.

Rittman police got the call from McComas' house at 4:06 p.m., Waggy said. He and another officer arrived on scene at 4:12.

A Doylestown officer arrived as backup at 4:15, Waggy said.

Lively was arrested and later allegedly confessed to stealing from McComas' property previously, Boggs said. Lively intended to steal something on Saturday but never got the chance, Boggs said.

Under the law, if a person enters an occupied structure with intent to steal or commit another crime, that is a crime, he said.

There was no property damage to McComas' house, Boggs said, and Lively did not show any weapons.

Lively had a permit to carry a concealed weapon, issued in August 2004, said Capt. Doug Hunter of the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.

"The fact he's recently run afoul of the law has resulted in the permit being revoked" as of Thursday, Hunter said.

Under Ohio law, people cannot hold concealed carry permits if they have felony convictions or any violence-related convictions, he said.

In March, Lively pleaded not guilty to unrelated charges of forgery and illegal processing of prescription drug documents.

Lively was convicted of driving while under the influence of alcohol from September 2001, Boggs said, sifting through police records.

Driving offenses would not affect the permit, Hunter said.