Jan. 19: At 10:52 p.m., Ptl. Anthony Ciccotelli was sent to Wal-Mart, 1300 Doral Dr. Police were told a person with whom loss prevention employees at the store were familiar with, may have been wanted on a theft warrant, and additionally, police were told “a new theft offense” happened when merchandise was intentionally not scanned during self check-out.” Officers Thomas Zorzi and Lt. Steve Riwniak and Brian Moss also responded. According to Ptl. Ciccotelli, Aaron MacKenzie Keffer, 34, of 2733 Mount Vernon Ave., Youngstown, Oh., “was observed intentionally skip-scanning two items and not paying for them during the checkout process.” The two items were valued at $6.35, the veteran policeman said. Keffer was arrested on the warrant and also charged with an alleged second theft offense stemming from the skip-scanning observed on the surveillance video. “During the arrest, Keffer was belligerent, told officers they could not touch him, and threatened to sue officer and Wal-Mart over being detained and arrested...Keffer was advised several times that he would be provided a copy of the warrant while being booked,” Ptl. Ciccotelli said.
      The warrant on Keffer is related to a Nov. 28, 2021 theft at Wal-Mart. At that time. loss prevention employee Nicole Mirto told police Keffer spent 24 minutes in the store and “selected frappuccino drink and drank it without paying for it [and] selected two packages of speaker wire and left the store without paying for them.” Mirto told police the incident had been captured on surveillance video.
      Note: In June, 2021, Keffer filed suit against Wal-Mart (noting incorrectly that he lives in “the city of Boardman’) seeking damages after he had been confronted by a man with a knife “around 3:00 a.m.” at Wal-Mart on Dec. 8, 2019. At that time, Keffer told police that he and his girlfriend were entering the store when a man with a toddler in a shopping cart pushed the cart out of the store, at which time his girlfriend noted the baby was cute, and the man pushing the shopping cart brandished a knife, telling the girlfriend, “If I were you, I’d shut my mouth and keep walking.” Six months later, Keffer filed suit against Wal-Mart, seeking damages in excess of $15,000, “exclusive of attorney fees.” The suit claims Wal-Mart “breached a duty of care by failing to keep the premises reasonably safe and free from Hazardous conditions.” The suit claims because of the Dec. 8, 2019 incident, Keffer “suffered pain and suffering, disability, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life and/or permanent aggravation of a previously existing condition.” The suit further alleges “Wal-Mart’s decisions to take no action, to put pecuniary gain over the safety and well-being of its business invitees is so extreme and outrageous as to go beyond all possible bonds of decency and was such that it can be considered as utterly intolerable in a civilized community.” Wal-Mart answered, denying Keffer’s assertions, noting that Keffer has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and his claims are barred by applicable statute of limitations. There has been no ruling on the suit and the case remains undisposed.