BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      One of three suspects in the Oct. 29, 2023 burglary and theft of three cars valued at $234,512 at the Kufleitner auto dealership at 7901 Market St. in Boardman has been arrested and indicted in Cleveland on a charge of felonious assault upon a key witness in the Kufleitner break-in, who has already been adjudicated in Mahoning County.
      Rasheed Rountree, 41, of Cleveland, was arrested in connection with the Kufleitner break-in early January.
      Appearing before Boardman Court Judge Joseph Houser on Feb. 8 on charges related to the Kufleitner break-in, Rountree’s $20,000 bond was revoked.
      As the record of the court states, “For good cause shown, the defendant’s bond is revoked as a result of...violations of his conditions of bond, namely to obey all laws.”
      That ruling came four days after Cleveland police reported that Rountree was a suspect in an early morning shooting on Feb. 4 at a so-called “drag racing” event in a parking lot, where Ke’Sani Herron told Cleveland police that Rountree fired several rounds at a car she was in.
      Herron was arrested by Boardman police about a month after the Kufleitner break-in on charges of felony theft and breaking and entering.
      In a plea bargaining agreement, Herron entered a guilty plea to a reduced charge of misdemeanor theft, and 175 days of a 180 day jail sentence were suspended.
      Herron told police she was at Kufleitner’s the night of the break-in, and that Rountree asked her to take him to a dealership so he could steal cars to sell and make money for other criminal charges he was facing in Cuyahoga County.
      Det. Andy Humas, of the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, says that Rountree has been arrested an indicted on a multi-million dollar theft and violent crime conspiracy, and that Rountree and his associates are well-known to break in the service door to car dealerships and steal vehicles.
      An assistant county prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, Atty. Brad Meyer, told local police that Rountree has been indicted on 10 dealership break-ins where multiple vehicles were stolen in each event, mostly being Dodge Hellcats, according to records obtained by The Boardman News.
      Herron told Cleveland police on Feb. 4 when she was at the drag racing event that she saw Rountree in a stolen Dodge Hellcat. She said that Rountree opened fire on the car she was in,
      According to Cleveland police, 13 spent shell casings were found in the parking lot.
      Herron was not struck by the gunfire, however sustained injury when glass fragments were embedded in a finger and her hip, Cleveland police said.
      “Herron stated she knew Rountree because she used to run with him and Rountree believes she snitched on him with a previous case with the Boardman Police Department which resulted in him going to jail,” a Cleveland police report said.
      As a result of the shooting incident in Cleveland, Boardman police have lodged a charge of intimidation of a witness against Rountree.
      A third suspect in the Oct., 2023 Kufleitner break-in has not, as yet, been arrested by Boardman police. That suspect is reported to be recovering from gunshot wounds.
      Kufleitner Dealership Break-Ins
      Also Reported On Jan. 5 and Mar. 25
      Boardman police are also investigating break-ins at Kuflietners on Jan. 5 and Mar. 25.
      In both instances, police believe the suspects flee from the dealership, then head west on Rt. 224 and get onto Rt. 11, traveling at very high rates of speed towards Cleveland.
      On Jan. 5 at 3:29 a.m. police responded to an alarm and found a 2023 Charger Scat Pack with a sunroof that had been shattered. A surveillance camera captured a man in the parking lot of the business exit a Dodge Durango and begin jumping on the sunroof of the Charger, valued at $67,575.
      Local police and the Ohio State Highway Patrol pursued the Charger at speeds reaching 100-miles-per-hour until it got onto Rt. 11 heading north. An OSP cruiser crashed during the pursuit, and the trooper was not injured.
      Shortly after midnight on Mon., Mar. 25 police received a call of potential suspicious persons in the parking lot of Kufleitner’s.
      Once observed, two suspects reportedly got into a Dodge Charger that fled south on Market St. and then headed west on Rt. 224. The Charger was next observed by a Mahoning County deputy sheriff northbound on Rt. 11.
      “The deputy attempted to catch up to the vehicle, but it fled at a high rate of speed,” Ptl. Nicholas Brent said.
      At Kufleitner’s, a silver Dodge Hellcat with a broken side window was found in the parking lot of the business.