Portsmouth Police responded to a report of a suspicious person lurking at the Speedway on Gallia around 4 am.
When they arrived on the scene, they discovered a woman with open warrants. Police took April Dawn White into custody for escape and failure to appear.
White was convicted of drug possession and tampering with evidence in September and for attempted burglary back in November and sentenced to five years of community control.
Bold Bandit Hits Speedway “You Can Take Whatever You Want For Free”
A bold bandit, who happens to be a repeat offender, helped himself to whatever he wanted from an area Speedway and encouraged others to do it as well.
The store manager called in sheriff’s deputies around 11 am after he noticed the store was missing a number of cigarettes. He said a customer had called him the night before and reported they saw two men standing outside the store who told him you could go inside and take whatever you wanted for free.
The customer said the two men were smoking with an employee. He said he recognized the men and that they were well-known for stealing in the South Point area.
The manager checked the security video and saw one of the men go into the store alone, go behind the counter, and take several packs of cigarettes without paying. The other man came in and helped himself to a Red Bull drink and a Little Debbie Snack Cake without paying. The man came back for a second time and helped himself to multiple packs of cigarettes.
Deputies recognized the two men, as they’d spoken to them during a recent investigation where they busted one of them for breaking and entering.
Later in the day, a deputy spotted one of the men walking along County Road One behind Walmart. They knew Justin Hackworth had an open warrant for a parole violation, so they stopped him and took him into custody. The officer told Hackworth about the theft investigation at Speedway, and he admitted he’d stolen items from the store. He said he was homeless and had no money. Hackworth is currently on parole for burglary charges.
As we’ve mentioned before, one of the conditions of parole is supposed to be having a place to live. However, as we’ve noted multiple times, this rule does not seem to be enforced by the court or the parole authorities.
Officers took Hackworth into custody and said they would continue to search for the other man.
