Thief attempts to steal ATM during Steel Valley Gas Mart break-in
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HANOVERTON -- Thieves attempted to steal the ATM money machine during an early morning break-in Thursday at the Steel Valley Gas Mart located at 9889 First St., with a stolen truck connected to the incident found later in the day outside Lisbon.
According to owner Frank Tempesta, video surveillance footage showed a car pulling up to the gas station and attempting to break the glass on the front of the building to gain entry.
When that failed, the suspects left and returned with what authorities learned was a stolen truck and backed into the building, attempting to steal the ATM. When they could not get that, they took the dispenser for the pull-tab tickets.
Columbiana County Sheriff Brian McLaughlin said deputies were dispatched at 3:04 a.m. Thursday for an alarm going off at the business. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the front door had been crashed into by a vehicle.
The video showed a red GM truck, with two suspects involved. McLaughlin described one suspect as heavyset and the other as thinner.
Anyone with information about the break-in or the suspects should call the county sheriff's office at 330-424-7255.
"They did a lot of damage," McLaughlin said.
On Thursday afternoon, the sheriff's office received information about a suspicious vehicle on Applegate Road, west of Black Road, outside Lisbon and positively identified it as the pickup from the break-in, finding the pull-tab machine in the bed with the tailgate down. No one was there.
The pickup, a 2004 red Chevy Z71, was discovered stolen at 8:04 a.m. Tuesday from Johnson Motors, 14037 Liverpool Road, Madison Township.
McLaughlin said the break-in and theft remain under investigation.
Tempesta noted that this might not be the first time the suspects have tried this as the body shape of the driver of the truck and the MO match-up with that of a recent break-in at the nearby Pit Stop.
The Steel City Gas Mart was open for business, but only for cash transactions, as their POS system was damaged during the break-in.
The gas mart will have to close for repairs. Tempesta believed the closure would start today and be for at least a couple of days.
He estimated this will cost him over $20,000 for repairs, damages and lost business. He has 10 employees on his payroll who will be dealing with a loss of income as they are off during the closure.
With glass shattering everywhere from where the truck backed into the building, extensive cleaning will have to be done to make sure the kitchen, customer service area and the rest of the store are clean of any glass shards. ServPro will begin the cleaning process on this morning.
Tempesta has boxed up all food items in the store, hoping to get credit from the distributers for damaged goods.
Tempesta, a Warren resident, said crimes like this happen in Trumbull County, but you don't expect them to happen some place like Hanoverton.
(Staff Writer Mary Ann Greier contributed to this story.)