Suspects sought in $10,000 coin store theft
The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia said three women walked into a coin store last week and stole $10,000 in merchandise. The thefts took place at B&J Coins in Verona. The sheriff’s office said the group of women entered the store at noon on July 19 and expressed interest in purchasing several items, including gold and jewelry, but didn’t have enough money to complete their purchase.
“It is believed that the three worked together to confuse the staff, through deceit and trickery, which resulted in them leaving the store with over $10,000 worth of merchandise,” said Lt. Aaron Le Veck in a press release from the sheriff’s office. The sheriff’s office said the stolen merchandise consisted of gold coins and a piece of gold. If anyone has information about this incident or knows the identity of any of the women, please contact Cpl. Aaron Will of the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office at 540.245.5333, or Crime Stoppers at 800.322.2017. [Source: News Leader]
Retailer unveils 30 more stores
Ross Stores on Monday announced the recent opening of 22 Ross Dress for Less and eight dd’s Discounts stores across 12 different states and Washington, D.C. in June and July. The new locations are part of the off-price retailer’s plans to add 75 Ross and 25 dd’s locations this year, according to a company press release. The company already runs 1,680 off-price apparel and home fashion stores in 38 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, according to the release. [Source: RetailDIVE]
Police officer taken to hospital after exposure to drugs during shoplifting incident
A police officer in Allen Park, Michigan, reported signs of illness after a possible accidental exposure to dangerous drugs while investigating a retail fraud case. The incident occurred at about 10:30 p.m. July 19 at the Meijer store. Police were sent there regarding a theft involving a store employee. A dispatcher was told a woman was in custody and that she had heroin and Xanax on her, in addition to a stolen item. When the reporting officer arrived, another Allen Park officer was already at the scene.
In the loss prevention office, the reporting officer observed a latex glove with open packets of a white powder on it, with a pill mixed in. The officer asked why the packets of what appeared to be heroin were open, stating that fentanyl-laced products posed possible health risks. The loss prevention associate replied he removed a pill bottle from the employee’s backpack and searched the contents, finding the heroin packets. The officer then told him to carefully place the glove, powder and pill in a ziplock bag and advised everyone involved to wash their hands. At that point, the first police officer to respond to the call said he was getting very dizzy and light-headed. He turned pale, so the second officer had him sit down and a rescue vehicle was summoned.
The first officer said he put his search gloves on before the second officer’s arrival and moved part of the latex glove that was covering the heroin, finding it exposed. He took the suspect’s identification and placed it near his shirt pocket, using his pen clip to hold the ID card. Rescue workers arrived and transported the officer to Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn, for medical evaluation and treatment.During the investigation, police learned that the loss prevention employee was shopping off the clock when he received a call from the store’s general manager informing him that an employee took a box of chicken tenders and concealed them in her backpack. In speaking to her, the accused employee told him she had chicken tenders in her bag that she did not purchase. She was taken to the loss prevention office for further investigation.
In the office, he had her remove all the contents from her backpack. Some of the contents included medication bottles, some of which was Ibuprofen prescribed to her daughter. In checking the contents of the pill bottle, the loss prevention employee discovered three tightly wrapped packets of “White China heroin” and a Xanax pill in the Ibuprofen bottle. He then contacted police. The 28-year-old Melvindale woman was arrested for retail fraud and for Violation of the Controlled Substance Act. [Source: News-Herald]
Watch: Surveillance video posted to Facebook snags shoplifting suspect
Deputies in St. Johns County, Florida, arrested a woman they said stole hundreds of dollars’ worth of merchandise from a boutique. On Tuesday, 52-year-old Debra Riggs was arrested and charged with grand theft. Action News Jax spoke with Riggs over the phone who said it was a poor mistake and admitted that she was at fault. On Monday, deputies responded to the Pink Nickel boutique to investigate the theft. Detectives said surveillance video showed the suspect shuffling through the clothing rack and eventually cramming items into a large bag.
The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office said they were able to identify the woman in the video thanks to tips from social media. Angela Widener, the owner of the boutique, said she received a call from Riggs Tuesday. She said Riggs told her that it was an accident and begged her not to get law enforcement involved. ‘She’s like ‘can you please just meet me and grab these clothes from me. I didn’t mean to take them.’” Widener said. When Riggs dropped the items off at a nearby store, deputies were waiting for her.Widener said she believes Riggs intended to resell the stolen items at her booth she has at an antique mall in Fernandina Beach. “I think the items that she’s stealing, she’s selling them. So turning around and selling the product that’s she’s stolen. That’s just me assuming,” Widener said. Riggs denied those claims. She was released from jail after posting her $2,500 bond. [Source: Action News Jax]
More charges for accused cop impersonator who shoplifted
A Springfield, Illinois, man allegedly posed as a police officer or store security guard in a scheme to steal thousands of dollars in merchandise from East Peoria stores. Last month Steven Dilley, 45, brazenly repeated his ploy at Bass Pro Shops within hours after he was released on bond for allegedly using it at Kohl’s department store days earlier, a prosecutor’s court affidavit stated. Dilley also impersonated officers to shoplift from stores in Normal earlier in June, police in that city told East Peoria detectives.
A Tazewell County grand jury indicted him last week on charges of continuing a criminal enterprise, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, impersonating a peace officer and felony retail theft. Over a week beginning June 22, Dilley struck Bass Pro as well as the Kohl’s and Lowe’s stores in East Peoria, the affidavit stated. He made calls to the stores in which he claimed he was a Metamora or Peoria police officer or another store’s security officer and reported that suspected shoplifters were in their stores or parking lots.
When the guards searched for the fictional thieves, Dilley stuffed bags with expensive items and clothing, the affidavit stated. Surveillance video revealed him making one call inside Bass Pro and then stealing up to $3,000 worth of clothing. Three days later, Dilley returned to the same store, which summoned East Peoria police who arrested him in its parking lot. Normal police found about $5,000 in stolen goods in Dilley’s hotel room there, while East Peoria police also recovered merchandise worth thousands of dollars in his hotel room in that city, the affidavit stated. Dilley posted $3,000 in cash after his second arrest in East Peoria for his release from custody pending prosecution. He has prior convictions for retail theft and burglary. [Source: Journal Star]
BOPIS ‘superconsumers’ spend $40 more in stores
When shoppers come to the store to pick up items ordered online, 37% make additional purchases that they were not planning on, according to new research from OrderDynamics. But “superconsumers” – consumers who used buy-online, pickup-in-store (BOPIS) at least twice in the last 12 months – bought more items in the store 51% of the time.
These BOPIS superconsumers also spend an average of $40 more on additional unplanned purchases while picking up online orders in the store. They also want their purchases fast, as 78% of superconsumers want to get their BOPIS orders within 24 hours, according to the report, “The Rise of the Click and Collect Superconsumer.”
Such “super” shoppers use every retail channel and said that they go shopping an average of 45 times a year, said the report. When they go shopping, click-and-collect orders are involved 23% of the time. These consumers are serious about brick-and-mortar stores, with 70% of them preferring to return merchandise in the store, according to the report, which surveyed 1,600 shoppers in North America, covering a range of categories but excluding grocery. [Source: SupplyChainDIVE]