By Darcie Loreno
Web Producer
It was a story they could have read in a comic book. All the ingredients were there: thieves, a set-up, cops, vindication for the victims in the end.
But it all unfolded in a Warren comic book shop, where the owner, a customer and Howland police lured a vandal who had stolen from the wrong guy. The suspect likely faces charges after a string of car break-ins and thefts, including of the comic books he tried to resell and belonging to Gib Franks.
"It was nice to see him get what was coming," said Franks, a 15-year customer of All American Comics in Warren.
Franks said early Tuesday, he was woken up by his father who told him someone had broken into several cars, including his, on Patchen Avenue in Howland. Gone was his bookbag, an IPod, and six hardcover Dungeons and Dragons handbooks worth about $300. His first thought was to call his friend and owner of All American Comics, Greg Bartholomew.
"I knew Greg is the only person who deals with that stuff," Franks said. "I texted him and said if anyone tries to turn in stuff let me know. Sure enough, by about 4 p.m., Greg gives me a call."
Bartholomew said a man, whose name was not available Wednesday, called the 161 W. Market St. store along with his Boardman location that afternoon wanting to sell gaming books.
"The guy starts reading off stuff, I wrote it down and it was definitely (Franks') stuff," Bartholomew said.
Bartholomew told the man to bring the books in Wednesday afternoon and then called police. Before the man was to arrive, the group went over what they'd do if he came in. Sure enough, the suspect arrived just before 4 p.m.
He placed Franks' bookbag containing the books on a table. Franks nodded at police to indicate they were his and the man was taken to the back of the store for interrogation, Bartholomew said.
Bartholomew said the man was a former customer who had come into the store a handful of times over the past few years.
"If he didn't take it, whoever did probably showed him," Bartholomew said. "He said he could sell it at a comic book shop. They didn't even wait a day. They stole it at 6 a.m. And called at noon."
Bartholomew said the situation has happened before. About four years ago at his Boardman store he confiscated stolen property taken in a string of burglaries in Trumbull County.
"It was just nice to see a thief get what was coming to him for a change," Franks said. "It was nice just to see vindication and justice."
Watch tomorrow for more on the story.
