Husband, wife face trial on burglary charges
FARMINGTON – A husband and wife facing burglary and related charges for allegedly stealing from a friend were ordered to stand trial in Fayette County Court Wednesday following a preliminary hearing before District Justice Wendy Dennis. William James Rusko, 32, and Dawn Rusko, 35, both of 359 Howard Road, Farmington, were each held for court on charges of one count of burglary, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and criminal conspiracy for allegedly stealing items from the former Chalk Hill home of Francis “Leonard” Kovalcik.
Wharton Township Police Chief David D. Sisler filed the charges for the Feb. 1 incident. The charges allege that more than $2,000 in household items were stolen from Kovalcik’s home at 195 Deerlake Trail by the Ruskos and an accomplice while Kovalcik was being treated in the hospital.
Kovalcik, 75, testified that he first met the Ruskos after Bill Rusko called him on the telephone and asked if Kovalcik wanted his grass cut in August of 2001. Kovalcik said Bill and Dawn Rusko and their “two kids and three dogs” moved in with him shortly after he met them.
Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney John A. Kopas III, Kovalcik said the Ruskos moved in with him because their trailer had been destroyed by fire. He said when they moved in they only brought one television and their clothes.
Kovalcik said the Ruskos had not paid him rent as per their agreement, and in December he told them they had to move after he received an $800 electric bill and a $300 telephone bill. He said they took everything they brought with them when they left in December.
He testified that the Ruskos were supposed to pay him $300 per month in rent and extra money for the electric and telephone bills. Under questioning by defense attorney Pat McDaniel, Kovalcik said they never paid anything and they left in December.
After spending time in the hospital from the end of January through Feb. 6, Kovalcik said he returned home to find things missing. Kovalcik said the missing items included two twin beds, pillows, blankets, a kerosene heater, color television, two VCRs, a toolbox with tools, a propane heater, weed cutter, gas cans, kerosene cans, a chainsaw, a 16-foot ladder, three pairs of scissors, a circular saw and an iron. Kovalcik said he paid cash for all the items, and went through a list, naming exactly where he bought them and how much he paid.
Kovalcik said the door leading from the inside of the garage to the basement was kicked in when he returned home. “The whole frame was cracked up and busted,” Kovalcik said. He said when he got home, his neighbor told him everything.
Next door neighbor Karen Michelle Schnatterly testified that on the afternoon of Feb. 1, she was looking out her kitchen window and she saw Bill and Dawn Rusko and an unidentified man carrying things out of the house. She said she first saw Bill Rusko check the front door, check the side door and then go to the left side of the garage, pull up the garage door and go inside. Schnatterly said she later saw Bill Rusko unlock the side door and saw things being carried out including a television and the two twin beds. She said she also saw them carry out boxes.
Schnatterly said she was watching the house for Kovalcik while he was in the hospital. She said she didn’t call the police about the incident because she thought the Ruskos may have been getting their own possessions. She testified that she went to the house after the Ruskos left and noticed the basement door had been kicked in. Schnatterly said that she had not seen the Ruskos for several weeks prior to the day she saw them carrying items from the house.
McDaniel asked for a dismissal of the charges, saying the Ruskos had a right to be at the home due to landlord/tenant law and “inconsistent testimony.” He also said there was no evidence of forced entry.
Kopas said it was a different situation than landlord/tenant and cited testimony in which Kovalcik said the Ruskos left and took everything they brought with them. “He said they weren’t supposed to be back,” Kopas said. He added that forced entry was noted on Feb. 1.
Dennis then said she would hold both cases for trial.