Politics & Government

Mayor Praises Carjacking-Thwarter

Ron Cherni works out at French Creek YMCA, Mayor Jim Smith said.

The 76-year-old Avon Lake man who helped stop a is a regular at the , Avon said at Monday's meeting of City Council.

"I wouldn't mess with him," Smith said of Ron Cherni. "He's a tough hombre. I remember his dad. He was 96, and I wouldn't have messed with him, either."

Cherni was at the Speedway at the corner of Walker Road and Route 83 in Avon Lake on Dec. 8 when Bryan Schiffbauer, 23, who had just pleaded guilty in Avon Lake Municipal Court to a misdemeanor drug charge, allegedly told a woman at the Speedway that he had a gun and tried to steal her SUV.

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Cherni and Brian Williams, 40, of Barberton, heard the woman scream for help and . They and some construction workers held Schiffbauer until police arrived.

Schiffbauer is in Lorain County jail and will be in Avon Lake Municipal Court on Tuesday.

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"It's a tribute to the Y that they could help a 76-year-old man be fit enough to do that," Smith said.


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