Elyria Courts Address Severe Home Invasion and Burglary Cases

ELYRIA, Ohio — The Lorain County justice system has handed down severe penalties and charges in two separate Elyria burglary and home invasion cases, highlighting law enforcement's aggressive stance on property crimes and associated violence.

Dec. 2024 Apartment Raid Defendants Plead Guilty

In October 2025, Johnny Rice and Ramal Sitton, both 21, entered guilty pleas in Lorain County Common Pleas Court to multiple felony counts stemming from a violent, armed apartment raid that took place in December 2024. The charges included kidnapping, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, felonious assault, having weapons under disability, and disrupting public service, all of which carried firearm specifications.

In November 2025, Judge Christopher Rothgery sentenced both Rice and Sitton to prison terms ranging from 12 to 15 years, noting the severe terror inflicted upon the apartment residents during the invasion.

Bell Avenue Burglary and Assault Involving Baseball Bat

In another case, Kyle Zadar of Elyria faces charges of first-degree aggravated burglary and second-degree felonious assault. The charges stem from an incident shortly after midnight on Friday, April 11, 2025, in the 600 block of Bell Avenue.

Responding officers discovered Zadar injured in the yard of a Bell Avenue home. Investigators determined that a violent altercation involving a baseball bat had begun inside the residence before spilling outdoors. Zadar was treated at University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center before being booked into the Lorain County Jail.