ASHLAND — Ashland’s so-called Shoe Bandit is now tied up with a burglary charge after months of instances of reported shoe thievery.
Thomas Norris, 52, of Ashland was arrested July 13 by Ashland police who alleged he “by force, stealth, or deception, trespass … to commit … theft.”
Court records show Norris faces a third-degree felony charge of burglary.
Ashland County Common Pleas Court magistrate Emily Bates issued a $100,000 surety bond on Monday and Norris pled not guilty on Thursday.
Norris is being represented by Columbus-based attorney Zachuary Meranda, who was not immediately available to comment.
Is Norris the ‘Shoe Bandit?’
People have been resorting to social media since at least February 2024 with doorbell video surveillance of an individual snatching shoes off porches.
One of them took to “The Ashland Chatter” Facebook group in June 2024:
“I was wondering if anyone else keeps getting their shoes taken off their porch at night.. I saw a few months ago this was happening and haven’t seen any more post about it.. My mom has had 4 pairs of shoes taken in the past month on Evergreen St. Is this happening to anyone else??”
Since then, there have been five separate posts in the group displaying surveillance video of a person appearing to take shoes off porches.
Over time, social media users nicknamed the culprit the “Shoe Bandit.”
When asked if Norris is, indeed, the Shoe Bandit, Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell said, “Probably.”
“People have had shoes disappearing,” he said. “(Norris) likes to take shoes. The matter remains under investigation, but I’m not aware of a shoe theft ring in Ashland. It appears this is isolated to one suspect.”
More than 100 shoes found
Ashland police Capt. Craig Kiley said the case broke open after a complaint police received about a suspicious person.
“Patrol officers on the day and night shifts followed up, used the information they had and paired it with evidence and ultimately made the arrest,” he said.
Patrol officers worked over the weekend to obtain a search warrant of Norris’ house on Cottage Street. He said they found shoes. How many?
“A lot,” he said. “Over 100 is a good estimate.”
Kiley said police have been aware of shoe thievery in Ashland going back into 2024, but he said he wasn’t sure if it went back as far as February 2024.
“And I don’t know how many (reports) are tied to him — and if he was taking them off peoples’ porches or if they were left outside somewhere,” he said, adding he’d have to refer to the specific reports filed.
When asked if police plan to file additional charges against Norris, Kiley said he couldn’t comment on that.
“I’m very happy with how our men and women communicated and on the job they did,” he said.