Police: Report magazine activity

If you suspect something is amiss, call (330) 747-7911.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Complaints from several West Side residents about questionable door-to-door magazine sellers have prompted a warning from police to report such suspicious activity.

Detective Sgt. Jason Simon said out-of-town sellers were in the Glacier View and Glacier Heights area Wednesday evening. He said the neighborhood has several elderly residents.

Simon said he tried Thursday to contact Elizabeth Wood, a 19-year-old sales supervisor interviewed on the West Side by police but didn’t get a call back. Reports show the young woman has a New York address and was driving a blue minivan with Texas license plates.

“People should just use common sense,” Simon said about door-to-door sales. “Ask what company they work for, ask for their company ID and get a receipt for the purchase.”

If you suspect something is amiss, Simon said to call the police nonemergency number: (330) 747-7911.

Police sent to the West Side neighborhood Wednesday were told a man trying to sell magazines was threatening those who didn’t buy from him. Officers were also told that a woman, later identified as 20-year-old Tara Williams of Tennessee, was knocking on doors and identifying herself as a Kent State University student seeking donations for a contest she was in. No one police spoke to gave her money for a contest.

Williams was located walking on Glacier Heights and questioned by police. She said she sells magazines for a company called The Experience and travels around the country, staying in motels along the way. She provided a folder that had receipts and $51 inside it. Police seized the cash and receipts as evidence.

When asked who she sold magazines to, she wasn’t sure, adding she didn’t fill out the receipts or get information from the buyers, police said. The woman also told police that people gave her donations and if she collected a certain amount, it would be used to buy books to give to hospitals. She said she lied to people about going to Kent State to make it easier to get money, police said.

Wood, meanwhile, arrived at the scene after being called by police with a number provided by Williams. Wood said she dropped several people off in the area to sell magazines, adding they travel the country and are currently staying at a motel near Cleveland.

Wood rejected what Williams said about accepting donations, adding they are required to keep receipts for all transactions.

Police noted that a $49 receipt seized has a nonworking phone number on it and illegible name.