Crime & Safety
Police: Security Guard Recognizes Mentor Man As Robber When He Sees Photo On Facebook
Nicholas Giardini is already accused of robbing the Walmart in Eastlake; now he's suspected of robbing the Mentor Kmart
A Mentor man faces a charge of robbery because a security guard at Kmart recognized his photo.
In September, a man -- thought to be 25-year-old Nicholas Giardini -- tried to shoplift from the Kmart in Mentor.
A security guard saw the man sticking hats, gloves and curtains in his jacket, Mentor Police Lt. Tim Allen said.
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The man left the store without paying. When the guard tried to stop him in the parking lot, the man claimed to have a gun and ran away.
Later, the security guard saw a photo of Giardini on the Eastlake Police Department Facebook page after Giardini was arrested as a suspect in the armed robbery at the Eastlake Walmart.
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The guard recognized Giardini's face and contacted Mentor police, Allen said. He then picked Giardini out of a photo lineup.
Mentor police picked up Giardini from Lake County Jail -- where he awaits trial on the Walmart robbery -- and arraigned him on a charge of robbery Thursday in Mentor Municipal Court.
His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 13.
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