According to owner Frank Tempesta, video surveillance footage showed a car pulling up the gas station and attempting to break the glass on the front of building to gain entry. When that failed the suspect(s) left and returned with a pickup truck believed to be stolen from East Palestine and backed into the building.

The suspect(s) attempted to the steal the ATM. When they could not get that, that took the dispenser for the pull-tab tickets.

The Columbiana County Sheriff’s Office is handling the investigation.

Tempesta noted that this might not be the first time the suspect(s) have tried this as the body shape of the driver of the truck and the MO match-up with that of a recent break-in at the nearby Pit Stop.

The Steel City Gas Mart is open for business today, but only for cash transactions, as their POS system was damaged during the break in.

The gas mart will have to close for repairs. Tempesta believes the closure will start on Friday and be for at least a couple of days.

He estimates this will cost him over $20,000 for repairs, damages and lost business. He has 10 employees on his payroll who will be dealing with a loss of income as they are off during the closure.

With glass shattering everywhere from where the truck backed into the building, extensive cleaning will have to be done to make sure the kitchen, customer service area and the rest of the store are clean of any glass shards. ServPro will begin the cleaning process on Friday morning.

Tempesta has boxed up all food items in the store, hoping to get credit from the distributers for damaged goods.