Elyria parakeet caper results in felony charges against 2 over alleged July break-in

Charges have been brought in Lorain County Common Pleas Court against two people who allegedly broke into an Elyria woman's apartment in July trying to retrieve a lost parakeet, but leaving only with a cement turtle statue. Lucas McMullen, 44, of Diagonal Road in LaGrange Township, was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on one count each of breaking and entering and possession of criminal tools, both felonies, and one count each of theft and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors. Co-defendant Molly Doughty, 43, of Hawthorne Street in Elyria, is charged with breaking and entering, a felony, and misdemeanor theft and criminal mischief. Both she and McMullen are free on bond, according to court records. Police got involved in late July after a female monk parakeet named Clover was stolen or went missing, about the same time McMullen lost his male monk parakeet named Scooby. A third person found one of the birds and posted about it July 27 on Facebook. Clover's owner provided the woman with pictures proving the bird was Clover and got the bird back, police said. McMullen also contacted the finder claiming the bird was his. He demanded Clover's owner's information from the finder, but she refused. McMullen filed a theft complaint, admitting to police he and Leaha Caruthers, 41, of Brighton Township, had driven past Clover's owner's house "once or twice," though it wasn't clear how they figured out where she lived. Clover's owner gave police photos, a receipt and a DNA test proving the bird was female. She said she had been harassed about the bird on Facebook, and reported a disturbance at her apartment on July 28. Police found security footage that showed Doughty and McMullen allegedly breaking into the woman's building, accessing her living space and walking out with the cement turtle. As of Aug. 22, the turtle had not been recovered. Caruthers is charged with misdemeanor falsification for allegedly giving Elyria police a fake name. She is due back in Elyria Municipal Court on Nov. 4. McMullen pleaded guilty Aug. 8 in Common Pleas Court to felony drug possession, misdemeanor theft, driving under suspension and possession of drug paraphernalia in a 2024 criminal case. Judge Donna Freeman sentenced him to three years community control on Oct. 3.