Costco employees in Mayfield Heights called police on three teens who wouldn't stop selling candy outside the store and wouldn't leave when asked. By the time officers sorted it out, they had a 14-year-old in custody, an 18-year-old who'd bolted into the store wearing a ski mask despite the warm weather, and a loaded gun pulled from that man's backpack.
The Costco staff reported on Oct. 18 that three teens were selling candy outside the business and refused to leave after being asked several times, according to Cleveland.com. Responding officers located and identified a 14-year-old Cleveland boy outside the store and an 18-year-old man who had briefly fled from officers into the store, the outlet reported. A third suspect was never located.
Backpack Search Turns Up a Loaded Firearm
The 18-year-old man was argumentative and failed to properly identify himself to officers, which led them to search his backpack, per the Cleveland.com account. Inside, they found a loaded gun. He was also wearing a ski mask even though it wasn't cold outside, the report notes.
The man was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and trespassing. He also had a felony warrant out of juvenile court, the same report states. Under Ohio law, carrying a concealed weapon in violation of the relevant provision is classified as a second-degree misdemeanor when stated exceptions don't apply, according to the Ohio Revised Code, though it's not established which circumstances apply in this case. Criminal trespass under divisions (A)(1) through (A)(4) is a fourth-degree misdemeanor; a violation of division (A)(5), involving a critical infrastructure facility, is a first-degree misdemeanor, per the Ohio Revised Code.
Teen Released to His Mother
The 14-year-old was released to his mother at the station and is likely to be charged in juvenile court for trespassing, the report states. It remains unclear who the third teen was or whether investigators located him after the Oct. 18 encounter.
Not the First Run-In Over Candy Sales
This wasn't an isolated complaint. Officers had dealt with candy sellers several times in recent months over complaints that they bothered people outside businesses and refused to leave properties, the station's report on an earlier incident noted. On Aug. 13, Mayfield Heights officers stopped two males selling candy outside K&G Menswear after recognizing them from a past incident.
One of those two gave officers different names before he was identified as an 18-year-old Cleveland man and arrested for trespassing. A Cleveland police detective said at the time that the man had recently been released from jail after being convicted on an aggravated robbery charge, according to the same Cleveland.com report. The second candy seller in that August incident was identified as a 16-year-old Cleveland resident, who was released to his mother and was set to be charged in juvenile court for trespassing.
