Ohio trio charged with shoplifting
Two Ohio men are accused of shoplifting more than $6,000 in power tools Sunday evening at a Clearview Mall store in Center Township, authorities said.
The pair allegedly made their getaway from the Rural King in a sport utility vehicle driven by a girlfriend of one of the suspects.
John H. Barton, 27, of Martins Ferry and Samuel T. Powell, 29, of East Liverpool later fled the vehicle and ran into the woods in nearby Butler Township, state police said, but troopers eventually caught them.
At the vehicle, police said, they found Barton's girlfriend, Tina L. Smith, 45, of Salineville, Ohio, with the reportedly stolen tools inside.Also inside were Smith's three young children. Troopers suspect she was impaired on drugs.District Judge Bill O'Donnell arraigned Barton and Powell both on a felony charge of retail theft, and misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, and fleeing or attempting to elude police.Smith was arraigned on a felony charge of conspiracy to commit retail theft, stemming from the alleged shoplifting incident.She is charged separately with driving under the influence of a controlled substance and reckless endangerment, both misdemeanors, and two traffic violations.
Barton and Powell are in the Butler County Prison on $20,000 bond each. Smith is in the county prison on $10,000 bond.Troopers were initially called around 6:15 p.m. for the reported theft of $6,632 worth of Milwaukee brand power tools at the Rural King, police said.The suspects, according to charging documents, had left in a Ford Flex with Ohio license plates. The SUV apparently made its way south on Benbrook Road. Troopers a short time later made a traffic stop of the vehicle on Bryson Road in Butler Township.Police said Barton and Powell fled the vehicle and ran into a wooded area, but both men were quickly captured.Smith remained in the SUV. Seated in the vehicle were her children, ages 4, 8 and 9.
She recounted, documents said, that Barton and Powell had “stolen items from the Rural King, thrown them in her vehicle, jumped in, and told her to drive off.”Troopers suspected Smith was under the influence, police said. She allegedly showed impairment during field sobriety tests, and she was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood draw. Toxicology results are pending.Authorities said the Butler County Children & Youth Services agency was contacted, and took custody of Smith's children.Online court records did not list attorneys for any of the defendants.Police said Barton and Powell are both suspected in other shoplifting incidents in Butler County and Western Pennsylvania.
