An auto repair shop in Canal Fulton is the latest victim of distraction theft.
"He came in the front door and asked if he could get an oil change," James Litten, the owner of Northwest Auto Repair, told News 5.
Litten walked us through exactly what happened.
"He went into the bathroom, it's the only one we have. He was in there for what I would call an unusually long time, but who am I to judge?"
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He said the man eventually left the restroom to tell him the toilet and sink weren't working.
"I just simply came in and I tried to flush it. And the handle was not connected to anything. You could tell. It was just free flopping there," Litten said.
He said the man left shortly after.
"Like, what in the world. Why? What is his motivation here," Litten said he asked himself.
His empty cash drawer was the answer to that question hours later. That's when he pieced it all together.
The small business owner, and member of a typically quiet and trusting community, is now sharing a message he said he never thought he would: "It's sad! But don't assume that everybody has the best intentions."
Litten said he and an employee actually worked with police to track the man behind the theft down. Turns out he used his real name a different time he was in the shop.
The suspect, Matthew O'Connor, now in the Stark County jail, facing both misdemeanor and felony charges.
