A greater Cleveland Rapid Transit Authority bus stop is shown on Prospect Avenue on Jan. 24, 2023.
Tribune News Service
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A Garfield Heights man stole an RTA paratransit bus on Christmas Eve because he did not have a ride home after being released from Solon’s jail, according to a police report.
A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted Vito Ecolano, 29, this week on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle. He will appear for his first hearing later this month.
The incident began when Solon police responded to D&M Convenience Food Mart, 33630 Aurora Road, at about 11:30 a.m. Dec. 24. A Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority bus driver called 911 to report that his bus had been stolen.
The driver, 53, told police that he went into the store and left the white 2017 Chevy paratransit bus unlocked and running.
Officers obtained security footage from the convenience store that showed a man wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans enter the RTA bus and leave the area traveling eastbound on Aurora Road.
Police contacted RTA dispatch who began to track the vehicle and located it on Booth Avenue near East 93rd Street in Cleveland minutes before noon.
RTA contacted Cleveland police, and officers found the bus and the man matching the description from security footage.
Officers arrested Ecolano after seeing him exit the vehicle.
According to a Solon police report, Ecolano told officers he was released from jail at about 9 a.m. He had been charged with several offenses, including theft. After he left the facility, he had no way of getting home, so he walked, until he saw the bus, the report says.
He also admitted to police that he stole a number of items from an unlocked Kia Sedan and a Dodge van near the convenience store before he took the bus. He took a candy bar, gloves, a vape pen, cigarettes and about $50.
When he saw the bus was unlocked, he left with plans to drive to his residence in Garfield Heights.
“Vito then stated that he stopped at the Booth Avenue location to leave the bus there and return home on foot,” the report said.
Police drove Ecolano back to Solon’s jail, where he was booked for theft of a motor vehicle. Police are investigating the stolen items and working to find the Kia Sedan and Dodge van owners.
