Man accused of attempting to steal nearly $5,000 worth of items from Banner Supply

A man was arrested on Tuesday when he and an accomplice attempted to buy almost $5,000 worth of roofing material using a stolen credit card.

Employees at Banner Supply on East Indianola Avenue told Youngstown police that two men had called in the roofing order on the phone and tried to pay for it using three different credit cards, which the employees found were reported stolen.

When Youngstown police arrived, one of the suspects escaped and was not found, while the other, David Cole, was being restrained by the hardware store employees. Employees were able to also provide CCTV footage of the crime. They also reported that the two men made a purchase on May 22 at the store.

Cole told police that he was not aware of what was happening nor that the card used for payment was stolen.

The owner of Banner Supply reported to police that the suspects were trying to leave with $4,485 worth of rolled roofing material, according to the police report. Because the cards they tried to pay with came up as stolen, employees called the police before the two men arrived and prevented them from leaving by slashing their tires.

Cole was arrested and taken to the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office for questioning. He told police that he did not know the other man and had only ridden with him twice, according to the report.

Cole told officers that the other man gave him a phone number and instructed Cole to put his name as “John Hustler Money” in his contacts, according to the report.

Cole was later transported to the Mahoning County Jail while being accused of misuse of credit card and theft – both fifth-degree felonies, according to the report. The whereabouts of the other man remain under investigation.

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