Repeat offender arrested in donation scam
Norton man allegedly went door-to-door collecting
Gary Paul Thomas
NORTON – A man suspected of scamming residents in Sharon and Copley townships was arrested here June 6. Medina County Sheriff’s deputies, accompanied by Norton police officers, apprehended Gary Paul Thomas, 48, at the Sunset Village trailer park on Norton Avenue.
According to the Medina Sheriff, Thomas went door-to-door in Sharon and Copley soliciting $25 donations for the Sharon Township Fire Department, leaving a number placard for their driveway after getting the donation. The business card he provided said his name was “Wood Thomas,” with American Fire and Security, out of Norton. Thomas’s registered sex offender sheet with the Summit County Sheriff indicates the word “Wood” is tattooed on his stomach. Other aliases he has gone under are “Mark Anderson” and “Michael Girsica.”
“We contacted Chief Rob Haas of the Sharon Township Fire Department who confirmed this subject and his seeking of donations is not part of the fire department or authorized to seek donations or represent the fire department in any way,” Medina County Sheriff Capt. David Centner said on the department’s Facebook page.
Thomas has a lengthy criminal history including burglary and sex offences, among other charges. His sex offender sheet lists him as a non-compliant tier II offender convicted in 2008 of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
According to the Medina Sheriff, Thomas went door-to-door in Sharon and Copley soliciting $25 donations for the Sharon Township Fire Department, leaving a number placard for their driveway after getting the donation. The business card he provided said his name was “Wood Thomas,” with American Fire and Security, out of Norton. Thomas’s registered sex offender sheet with the Summit County Sheriff indicates the word “Wood” is tattooed on his stomach. Other aliases he has gone under are “Mark Anderson” and “Michael Girsica.”
“We contacted Chief Rob Haas of the Sharon Township Fire Department who confirmed this subject and his seeking of donations is not part of the fire department or authorized to seek donations or represent the fire department in any way,” Medina County Sheriff Capt. David Centner said on the department’s Facebook page.
Thomas has a lengthy criminal history including burglary and sex offences, among other charges. His sex offender sheet lists him as a non-compliant tier II offender convicted in 2008 of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.