Police suspect pair charged in theft were involved in Girard robbery

The pair will have a hearing Aug. 14.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — A man and woman charged with theft at the Sparkle Market on Mahoning Avenue match the description of a couple involved in a Trumbull County strong-arm robbery, police said.

Dario Valentini, 27, of Runnemede Drive, Boardman, and Vanessa A. Williams, 20, of Lowellville Road, Struthers, were arraigned Tuesday in municipal court on theft charges. Valentini also faces drug charges. They will be back in court Aug. 14 for a pretrial hearing.

Valentini is accused of grabbing $400 from a cash register at Sparkle after giving the clerk $1 to pay for a snack cake Monday afternoon. Witnesses said he ran out to a light-blue Ford Taurus being driven by a woman.

Patrolman Tony Vitullo spotted the car traveling westbound on Mahoning and pulled it over near Evanston Avenue. Valentini admitted taking the money and told police it was in his left shoe, reports show.

Officers found the cash in Valentini’s left shoe and then found three Vicodin (painkiller) pills and drug paraphernalia in his right sock.

Police said Trumbull County issued a bulletin Sunday for a white man and woman driving a light-blue Ford Taurus with “E” being the first letter of the license plate. The pair are suspects in a robbery in Girard.

The plate on the Taurus stopped after the Sparkle theft begins with “E.”

Girard police Detective Greg Manete said he is investigating a strong-arm robbery Sunday night at the IGA on North State Street.

Manete said a man went into the store about 8:20 p.m. and pulled the cash from the register when the clerk opened it. The clerk’s hand was scratched.

The thief ran to a getaway car, a light-blue Ford Taurus driven by woman, the detective explained. Manete said he will confer with Youngstown police.