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Boardman seeks shoplifting suspect in two incidents

BOARDMAN — Police are looking for a woman they say punched a store employee in the face after he confronted her for shoplifting.

The report states that on Monday at about 1 p.m., police responded to Hair Depot near the intersection of Market Street and Midlothian Boulevard for a call of shoplifting and assault.

Upon arrival, the store manager said an employee followed a woman out of the store after she set off the alarms and chased her toward Hillman Way.

The report states the employee filmed the woman with his phone and told her to give back what she stole. He told police she tried to knock the phone out of his hands and then punched him three times in the face.

The employee told police the woman threw two packets of earrings back at him, valued at $1.49 each, but that he believed she had other items with her because those earrings would not have activated the security system at the door.

The woman was described as black, in her 20s, about 5’6″ tall, with short purple hair, a camouflage hooded jacket and a purple “Friends” backpack.

Later, police heard scanner traffic from Youngstown about property dropped in the area of Judson Avenue and Hillway Way by someone matching the suspect’s description. After securing permission from Youngstown to interview the caller, police encountered a family member of the woman who saw her hiding something in a wooded area along Hillman.

The report states that the woman who called handed the officer a purple “Friends” backpack that contained 10 items from the store, still with price tags still attached. The items — wigs and hats valued at just under $200 — were returned to the store.

The woman matched the description of a suspect in another case Boardman police are investigating. In that incident, which occurred on Friday at the Shell convenience store at 5135 Market St., the suspect walked in, grabbed a shopping basket, filled it with snack foods, drinks and other items, totaling nearly $100, and walked out without paying. The suspect in that case also was described as young, black, about 5’5″ and wearing a camouflage hooded jacket.

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