Ex-school board member indicted again in Warren

WARREN

Roderick L. Lewis Jr., a 2013 Warren Board of Education candidate and onetime community activist, has been indicted a second time on theft-related charges.

Lewis, 25, of Stewart Drive Northwest, will be arraigned in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Wednesday on one count of felony theft, accused of stealing $3,000 from a young couple by pretending to be the seller of a home on Stewart Drive that he did not own.

Warren police said a woman, 20, of Maplewood Street Northeast and her fiance put $3,000 down and were to pay $450 per month rent for a furnished home they were going to buy on land contract.

They became suspicious about the deal and reported it to police, who determined that Lewis was posing as a real-estate representative for Built Rite Enterprise named Larry James Jr., and that the house actually is in an estate.

If convicted, he could get up to a year in prison. The new charge also could trigger a probation violation.

Read more about the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.