Women arrested after bystander intervenes in mall theft

Staff report

BOARDMAN

Police arrested two Youngstown women in a shoplifting incident after a witness intervened to help recover the stolen merchandise, according to a police report.

According to the report, officers responded to a bus stop at Southern Park Mall about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in reference to two women fighting.

There, a woman told police she had been shopping in Sears when she saw two women put merchandise into a backpack and then leave the store. The woman told police she informed a store employee about the theft, but the employee said they couldn’t do anything because the suspects already had left the store.

When the witness saw the two women in the store a second time, filling more bags with merchandise, she followed them out of the store to a bus stop, she told police. She said she confronted them when they attempted to get on the bus with the stolen items.

One of the women, later identified as Tiesha Howell, 22, of Ferndale Avenue, threatened the witness and the two got into a scuffle, according to the report.

Police arrived and arrested Howell on a robbery charge. They arrested the other suspect, Breiash Floyd, 20, also of Ferndale, on charges of obstructing official business, resisting arrest and theft.

All the merchandise, the value of which was estimated at nearly $1,500, was returned to Sears, according to the report.

Mahoning County court records indicate that Howell has a previous conviction for disorderly conduct, and Floyd has previous convictions for disorderly conduct/failure to desist and theft.