Crime & Safety

Arrest Made in Furniture Store Burglary

The following arrest information was provided by the Westlake Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction.

A Cleveland man has been arrested for burglarizing on Center Ridge Road, and may be connected with burglaries in Avon and North Ridgeville.

Thomas Yafanaro, 48, was arrested Thursday at a home on Huss Avenue in Cleveland, where Westlake and Cleveland police also recovered the majority of the stolen merchandise. The recovered items were returned to their owners.

 sometime in the overnight hours of May 21. Between the furniture, TVs, cabinets and a box truck, the amount stolen was estimated at around $100,000.

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The box truck was recovered empty last week in Cleveland.

Yafanaro was in Westlake city jail on Friday. He has not appeared in court yet, but is expected to face charges of burglary and/or receiving stolen property charges.

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According to , Yafanaro has a criminal history back to 1990. It includes breaking and entering, vandalism, and safe-cracking. He is currently on probation for a 2010 receiving stolen property case.

Yafanaro also may have a taste for ice cream. Evidence recovered at the Huss Avenue home tied him with burglaries at Dairy Queen in North Ridgeville and Mitchell's in Avon, Westlake police said Friday. 


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