Youngstown man arrested on theft charges in Austintown

Staff report

AUSTINTOWN

A man tried to flee from a store where he was accused of shoplifting, police said.

Michael Zarlingo III of Youngstown, 53, was taken to the Mahoning County jail, where he was booked on charges of misdemeanor theft and felony charges of aggravated robbery, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Austintown authorities were called at 12:06 p.m. Thursday to Home Depot, 6100 Mahoning Ave., about a man fleeing the business after shoplifting items. A police report detailed that store officials told police they saw Zarlingo take three items from the plumbing section totaling $83.91 and put them in his jacket.

Store officials confronted him, and he was cooperative. But a police report said he became uncooperative when he learned Austintown police were on the way. Store officials said Zarlingo told them: “I can’t go to jail, I got kids to feed.”

He then is purported to have fled, and when a store employee attempted to stop him, he pulled a knife and swung it at that employee. He then ran out of the store and was picked up by Austintown police.

A knife was not found on him by authorities, but Zarlingo told police he threw the knife while running.