Man accused of skimming device at Newark store pleads not guilty

A California man has pleaded not guilty to multiple criminal charges after prosecutors accused him of installing skimming devices at a Newark grocery store to illegally steal debit or credit card information.

Marco Ernesto, 23, of La Harra, California, pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in a pattern of criminal activity and other charges in Licking County Common Pleas Court. He also faces three counts of possession of criminal tools and single counts of unauthorized use of real property, telecommunications fraud and document tampering.

Ernesto remains in the Licking County Jail on $250,000 bail set last month.

Newark police arrested Ernesto and a juvenile male on July 14 on charges of installing and attempting to retrieve skimming devices at a Save-A-Lot grocery store in Newark. Police say they found the devices after the suspects tried to get rid of them before a traffic stop.

A juvenile, believed to be from Romania, was also charged and remained in custody as of Thursday morning, a Newark police spokesman said.

In the criminal complaint, detectives say a bag containing two skimming devices was thrown from a vehicle driven by Ernesto on July 14. The juvenile, identified as a passenger in the vehicle and “AV” in the complaint, claimed Ernesto threw the bag, the complaint said.

Detectives say they found the vehicle using traffic cameras after spotting the license plate via surveillance footage. They say additional footage shows Ernesto and the juvenile distracting a Save-A-Lot employee while one of them installed the device, according to the complaint.

Ernesto denied being at Save-A-Lot on July 9 when officers responded to a report of a skimmer device placed on a cash register, the complaint said. He also denied being the person seen on surveillance footage, as detectives said, before later claiming a Columbus man gave him the devices and paid him $500 to install them.

The complaint also said detectives discovered evidence that Ernesto and the minors were placing skimming devices in Kentucky and other locations in Ohio.

Ernesto’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 4.

Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at [email protected].