Ohio man sentenced to nine years for $104K theft spree across 10 counties

A Cuyahoga County man was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday after pleading guilty to stealing more than $104,000 in merchandise from Rural King stores across 10 Ohio counties.

Byron Carner, 35, of South Euclid, pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and eight counts of theft in Clark County Common Pleas Court, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Prosecutors said Carner stole merchandise, primarily tools, from Rural King stores between June and October 2024 before selling the stolen items at pawn shops.

The thefts occurred in Belmont, Clark, Gallia, Greene, Huron, Jefferson, Knox, Medina, Sandusky and Union counties.

Carner and two suspected accomplices were arrested Oct. 2, 2024, following a vehicle pursuit involving the St. Clairsville Police Department, Belmont County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol.

Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said the case demonstrated the importance of coordinating investigations across multiple jurisdictions.

“This is how you prosecute organized crime – by taking a unified approach to crimes that cross county lines,” Wilson said. “Organized retail theft affects everyone. Holding thieves accountable helps keep local stores open and stops theft from inflating prices.”

Carner was already serving prison time for previous convictions, including an armed robbery in Medina County.

According to a March 31 ruling by Ohio’s Ninth District Court of Appeals,  Carner previously pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, kidnapping and safecracking after he and a co-defendant stole approximately $100,000 in merchandise from a Verizon store.

Prosecutors said Carner and the co-defendant entered the store armed with guns, forced an employee into the back of the business and tied the employee’s hands while waiting for a timed safe to open.

The pair then stole phones, tablets and other merchandise from the safe.

Carner received a prison sentence of 10 to 12 years for those convictions, which the trial court ordered to run consecutively to a separate 30-month sentence he was serving in Belmont County for theft and failure to comply with a police officer’s order.

Carner appealed the Medina County sentence, challenging the handling of related offenses and the imposition of consecutive prison terms.

The Ninth District Court of Appeals rejected his arguments and upheld the sentence in March.

The attorney general’s office did not specify whether Carner’s new nine-year sentence will run concurrently with or consecutively to his existing prison terms.

The cases against the two suspected accomplices in the Rural King thefts remain pending in Clark County Common Pleas Court.

The German Township Police Department investigated the thefts with assistance from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted the case, with Wilson serving as a special prosecutor.