Crime Date: August 8, 2014
Crime: Residential Burglary Series
Agency: Auglaize County, OH Sheriff’s Office
Several law enforcement agencies in Western Ohio were investigating a series of residential burglaries committed by an unknown suspect they called, “The Pillowcase Bandit”. During his crime spree, that lasted several months, the suspect broke into approximately twenty-nine homes in Auglaize, Logan, Shelby and Allen Counties. After connecting the dots, sheriff’s detectives from all four agencies began working together to identify and arrest the suspect.
A break in the case came during one of the burglaries when he was confronted by two sisters, ages 9 and 13. The sisters were home alone when they left their bedroom to investigate a noise coming from another area inside the house. After surprising one another, The Pillowcase Bandit fled, while the girls hid inside a closet. The next day, they sat down with a Special Agent from the Ohio State Attorney General’s Office – Bureau of Criminal Identification to create a composite sketch.
The sketch depicted a suspect with long blonde hair. Allen County Sheriff’s Deputies had recently arrested Mark Ball, age 51, on a theft/burglary warrant after he was identified through his DNA left at a crime scene.
Once word of his arrest reached Auglaize County Sheriff’s Department, they learned that Ball matched the composite sketch. He admitted to the series of burglaries and the cases will be submitted to prosecutors.
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