YSU freshman charged in theft of books from vehicle and store

The suspect’s appearance and clothing description fits what was seen on
camera.

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — A college freshman is charged with stealing two textbooks from a Jeep, trying to sell one back to Campus Book and Supply and swiping another during the doomed store transaction.

Andrew Freed, 22, of Trenholm Road, Boardman, was arraigned Tuesday in municipal court on charges of criminal damaging (Jeep window); receiving stolen property (two books from the Jeep); and theft (one book from the store).

He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court Nov. 27 for a pretrial hearing.

On Saturday, around 9:50 a.m., Youngstown State University police were told by the manager of Campus Book and Supply on Lincoln Avenue that two textbooks, “Machine Elements in Mechanical Design” and “Technical Calculus” had been stolen the night before during a vehicle break-in. A rock was used to break the front passenger window of a Jeep parked in a deck on campus.

The manager called police again about 10:25 a.m. to let them know a man was in the store attempting to sell “Machine Elements” back to the bookstore.

Campus police confronted the man at the sales counter, later identified as Freed, who said the textbook was his, that he’d bought it for a class. Inside the book’s cover was a woman’s name written in ink, just as the victim of the Jeep break-in had described, reports show.

Freed was then handcuffed and, during a search, officers said they found the textbook “For All Practical Purposes Mathematical Literacy in Today’s World” concealed in his short khaki pants. The store manager said the textbook had been on top of a stack behind the cash register and sales counter before Freed entered the store. The manager said he’d left the area unattended for a few minutes to call police and let them know Freed was in the store.

The two books, along with “Calculus For the Utterly Confused,” which Freed brought into the store with him, were taken by police.

Campus police said in their report that Freed’s appearance and clothing description fits that of the person seen on camera breaking into a vehicle.

Mahoning County court records show Freed had drug-related convictions in Boardman and Beaver Township in 2004.

meade@vindy.com