Police: Pa. man nabbed in toilet theft scheme

[September 06, 2012]  WINDBER, Pa. (AP) -- Police say a western Pennsylvania man's toilet theft scam didn't end with a clean getaway.

Thirty-two-year-old Bobby Clifford Smith III faces theft and related charges for allegedly exchanging a toilet he didn't buy for gift cards at a Somerset County home improvement store.

State police say Smith, of Windber, entered the store on Aug. 28, grabbed a toilet from a shelf and immediately went to the return line to exchange it for more than $600 in gift cards.

Investigators say surveillance footage from the store captured the entire episode.

The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat (http://bit.ly/TlB18o) reports Smith was arraigned Tuesday and held on $30,000 bail. Court records don't list an attorney for him.

___

Information from: The Tribune-Democrat, http://www.tribune-democrat.com/

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.