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Bullets whiz past officers' heads, strike Medina County homes
[January 17, 2013]

Bullets whiz past officers' heads, strike Medina County homes


Jan 17, 2013 (The Akron Beacon Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- MONTVILLE TWP. -- A grand jury is expected to consider additional felony charges against two men accused of firing bullets from an assault rifle that landed inside two homes.



Mark Bornino, 53, of Windfall Road, in Montville Township, and R. Daniel Volpone, 45, of Parma, were jailed pending an initial court appearance Thursday in Medina Municipal Court. Both men's bonds were set at $25,000 during the hearing.

They are charged with a felony count of discharging a firearm on prohibited premises.


Montville Police Sgt. Mathew Neil said additional charges are expected when the case is heard by a county grand jury.

The men are accused of firing bullets from an AK-47 assault rifle that whizzed past officers' heads and pierced two occupied Medina County homes about 500 yards away, becoming lodged in walls and a microwave.

Montville Township police say panicked homeowners called 911 to report the sounds of rapid gunfire and bullets hitting their houses Wednesday afternoon in the area of Windfall Road east of Interstate 71. The gunfire stopped by the time officers arrived.

Neil said the officers determined the gunfire most likely came from the northeast. They began checking fields and open spaces nearby to determine the source of the gunfire.

"A second round of rapid gunfire erupted," Neil said in a news release. "During this second round of rapid gunfire, an officer reported hearing bullets going over his head, and additional 911 calls from both of the original callers reported that their houses were being struck again." Neil said the homeowners were told to take shelter in their basements while additional officers from other departments were called in to find the shooters.

Officers determined the gunfire was coming from a home in the 5500 block of Windfall Road.

"As additional units arrived, the gunfire ceased and then started back up," Neil said. "Within seconds of the third round of rapid gunfire starting, two Montville Officers engaged two males at gunpoint." Officers seized an AK-47 assault rifle with 628 rounds, a 9 mm handgun with 50 rounds, a .380-caliber handgun with eight rounds, and a .22-caliber revolver with 40 rounds.

Neil said both men had been drinking and were shooting at paper targets with no back stop. Investigators determined the bullets that struck the homes traveled about 500 yards.

"Both homes sustained damage, with one of the homes having two AK-47 bullet holes through the walls," Neil said. "After going through the wall, one of the rounds became lodged into a kitchen appliance, at head level." Officers from the Medina Township Police Department and the Medina County Sheriff's Office assisted in the incident.

___ (c)2013 the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) Visit the Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio) at www.ohio.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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