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Boardman police report Dick’s theft followed by crash

BOARDMAN — Two Cleveland men are facing charges after allegedly stealing from a local sporting goods store and crashing in an attempt to flee from police.

Court records show Christopher Wells and Daishawn Ransaw, both 27, made initial appearances Thursday in Mahoning County Boardman Court on charges of felony theft. Wells also pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of endangering children, obstructing business, resisting arrest and having an open container of alcohol in the car.

Judge Joseph Houser set a preliminary hearing for both men for Tuesday. Both remain in the Mahoning County jail.

A Boardman police report states that the two men were reported leaving Dick’s Sporting Goods on Boardman-Poland Road with two shopping carts full of unpaid merchandise just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. As police were arriving, two women got into the car with them, and the car headed west toward Raising Cane’s fast-food restaurant.

The report states that when police got behind the car and turned on lights and sirens, the driver — later identified as Wells — attempted to scale the embankment between U.S. Route 224 and the restaurant parking lot, and struck a light pole near the drive-thru window, disabling the car.

The report states Ransaw got out of the car in an attempt to flee, but officers stopped him immediately. Wells had to be pulled off the light pole, which he was using to extricate himself from the car, and police had difficulty handcuffing him.

The report states that Ransaw first denied being involved in the theft, but when a representative from Dick’s arrived, he confessed to helping Wells push the carts out of the store.

The report states the women also were seen pushing carts through the store, with about $640 worth of merchandise in them, but did not attempt to leave the store with the carts. The women have not been charged.

The men allegedly stole nearly $1,400 worth of merchandise, including $180 worth of Carhart hats and more than $1,200 worth of miscellaneous apparel.

The report states police also found some Adidas brand items in the car, not taken from Dick’s but believed to be stolen from Kohl’s in a separate theft.

The report states other items were found in the vehicle that matched the description of items stolen from a store in Niles. The car and suspects also matched descriptions given in that case. The items still had security cables and sensors on them.

The report states that Wells smelled of alcohol, and police noticed several open and closed bottles of alcohol in the car, and Wells admitted to having “a drink” before driving. The report states he took several field sobriety tests, which he allegedly failed, and blew a 0.196 on a breath test. The legal limit for driving in Ohio is 0.08.

The report states police also charged Wells with driving under suspension and failure to reinstate his license. Neither those charges nor the OVI charge is reflected in online court records.

One of the women in the car had her 1-year old child with her, so the charge of endangering children was added after the fact, the report states.

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