By Don Rutledge
FPS Associate Editor
June 11, 2008

Joe Sabol and his granddaughter Amy Sutton.

“I would have done the same thing again!"
That's what a 72-year-old grandfather said when he grabbed the gun from an intruder at his granddaughter's home last Thursday afternoon which possibly saved the lives of her two young sons, ages 3 and 1.

Joe Sabol said he was sitting in a chair in the family room of his granddaughter,  Amy Sutton, on Overlook Dr. watching his two grandsons when an intruder entered the home about 3:30 p.m. from a door leading to the garage and took Amy hostage.
“He just grabbed me and I started running toward the front door to get help," Amy recalled.

While the intruder - who was later identified as Jason R. Haught, a 30-year-old vagabond - attempted to pump a shell into the chamber of a Remington 12-gauge pump shot gun which he had stolen from another residence, Sabol managed to grab the gun from Haught who fled back through the Sutton's garage.

“As I was screaming, the intruder told me - Don't do that, I'm going to take your kids," Amy recalled.

After Haught fled the home, Sutton called the sheriff's office which resulted in a quick response by the Sheriff.

Williams summoned deputies and the local police department to conduct a search in the woods behind the Sutton residence where Haught was believed to have fled.
Within a half hour, Haught was spotted by Carrollton Police Chief Ronald Yeager in a wooded area near the junction of Wood Rd. and SR 39 where he tackled and captured Haught.

According to Sheriff Dale R. Williams, Haught was taken to the Carroll County jail where Williams said Haught passed out for some 4 hours. “When he came around, Haught told deputies he had been taking heroin and was using marihuana", the Sheriff said.

It was later learned by sheriff's deputies that Haught had broken into the Rick Truman residence on Salineville Rd. prior to coming to the Sutton home.

Items reported stolen from the Truman garage included the Remington 12-gauge pump shotgun with five rounds of ammunition, which Sabol managed to retrieve from Haught, a fishing vest full of tackle equipment, 50 to 100 rounds of shotgun ammunition and a cell phone, all owned by Truman.

All the stolen items were later found in the corner of Sutton's back yard where Haught is believed to have waited before entering Sutton's garage. When deputies returned the items to Truman, they were all identified as being their property.
Subsequently, charges were filed Friday morning by Carroll County Prosecuting Attorney Donald R. Burns Jr. in Carroll County Municipal Court, where Haught is facing five felony charges. They include two counts of aggravated burglary with a firearm specification, both 1st degree felonies; kidnapping (Sutton), a 1st degree felony; burglary and theft, both 3rd degree felonies. A preliminary hearing was set for this Wednesday afternoon for Haught before Judge Johnston.

Haught's bond was set by Carroll County Municipal Court Judge Charles A. Johnston at $1 million and he was returned to the jail to be held on bond.

However, Saturday afternoon, Sheriff's deputies found Haught hanging from his jail cell at 1:30 p.m. when he reportedly attempted to commit suicide.

According to Sheriff Williams, Haught used a bed sheet to make a noose to hang on a bar of the cell. The Sheriff said the cloth was wrapped around Haught and looped around the handle of the jail cell which prevented deputies from unlocking the cell door. “However, they managed to cut the cloth loose and Haught was taken to Mercy Medical Hospital in Canton where he was examined and returned later Sunday evening to the Carroll County jail," the sheriff said.

According to Williams, Haught has been placed on a “suicide watch" and is being held in a main holding cell on the first floor of the jail.

Mrs. Sutton and Sabol said they can't say enough about the quick response and capture of Haught by the Sheriff's department and local police.

“We want to personally thank Sheriff Williams and his staff, including the four deputies and Police Chief Ron Yeager who surrounded the woods during the search for Haught and Deputy BJ Barker who was very helpful to us," Amy and Sabol said.
“I don't know what I would have done if my grandfather had not been here since my husband (Ty) was at work at PCC in Minerva when this all happened," Mrs. Sutton said.

She explained that she was holding a 3-day yard sale and that her grandmother, Carole Sabol, had been helping her all day Thursday.

“However when she (Mrs. Sabol) had to go to work, she called my grandfather and asked him if he could come out and stay with me. I told her no, that's o.k., I'll be all right," Amy recalled.

“However, I'm so thankful he decided to come here because of what happened," she added.

Despite all the excitement and what occurred, Mrs. Sutton said they decided to continue the yard sale Friday and Saturday.
A check of court records in the Carroll County Clerk of Courts office, revealed Haught was convicted in 2004 of burglary and placed on probation. However, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison in April 2007 for violation of his probation resulting from a domestic violence conviction. A divorce action, filed in December 2007 against Haught, was dismissed in January of 2008 and re-filed in February 2008.