Boardman police extradite felony theft suspect from North Carolina

Staff report

BOARDMAN

A Hubbard man who was arrested in North Carolina involving a crime committed in the township has been extradited to the Mahoning Valley.

Township police took custody of Erik Simpson, 19, of Tibbetts-Wick Road on Tuesday. He is charged with felony theft after being accused of stealing a vehicle from the Donnell Ford dealership on Market Street.

According to a police report filed June 12, dealership employees told police that Simpson gave them a fake check for nearly $73,000.

They told police that Simpson came to the business June 10 to purchase a used 2015 Ford F-350 truck, and that a deal was reached in which Simpson agreed to pay $72,943.75 for the vehicle. Simpson reportedly showed employees a bank account balance of more than $400,000, as well as the routing and account numbers.

The dealership reportedly completed the deal with Simpson and issued him a temporary tag, then Simpson left. Employees later discovered that Simpson did not have the necessary funds for the check that he wrote, according to a police report.

An employee at another car dealership told police that Simpson had attempted a similar action earlier June 10, but that the deal was halted when the business found that there was only $1.67 in an account in which Simpson claimed there was more than $400,000.

Simpson is scheduled to appear in Mahoning County Area Court today for arraignment. As of Wednesday, he was in the Mahoning County jail on a $4,000 cash or surety bond.