Police looking for man accused of stealing $6K worth of gift cards
In Michigan, police are looking for one man and three women connected to a retail fraud at Target in Bloomfield Township. Target asset protection associates told police that a man in his mid-twenties purchased a pack of diapers and $6,000 worth of Target gift cards, but it was later determined that the cashier never received the payment for the gift cards. Three women were seen accompanying the man during the transaction. Anyone who has information on or recognizes the people in the photo on the website are encouraged to call the Bloomfield Township Police Department at 248.433.7755. [Source: WXYZ Detroit News]
Alleged shoplifters face felonies in fights with loss prevention
Two people accused of attacking store security officers in separate incidents are in Douglas County California Jail on felonies: An 18-year-old Indian Hills man was arrested for robbery on Monday after he allegedly knocked over a store asset protection associate while shoplifting from the Jacks Valley Target. Daniel McDonald is being held in lieu of $10,000 bail. He was trying to walk out of the store without paying when the AP associate confronted him, and he knocked her down and ran out of the store.
A 50-year-old Reno woman is in custody after she was arrested in connection with a theft at the Topsy Walmart. Terri Lynn Winter is accused of pepper spraying a loss prevention after being asked for a receipt for goods she was carrying in a Walmart bag around midnight. She and another woman ran to their vehicle and reportedly tried to back into another store employee who was trying to get the license plate number. They allegedly took $112 worth of merchandise. [Source: The Record-Courier]
Three arrested in traffic stop after theft
An alert Indiana State Police trooper spotted a vehicle on Interstate 65 with three suspects involved in the theft of items from a Seymour store. The traffic stop by Trooper Bryce Harris at the 80-mile-marker north of Edinburgh resulted in the arrests of Measha Dashanik Wilburn, 21, Melvin Thomas Sanders Jr., 20, and Anthony Tyrone Jordan Jr., 23, all of Indianapolis. Officers with the Seymour Police Department took them into custody Thursday night. All three face Level 6 felony charges of theft and were booked into the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown without bond. Wilburn also had two warrants for her arrest, said Seymour Cpl. Adam Surface, who was the first to respond to the incident at Hibbett’s Sports in Seymour. “All three of them have a lengthy criminal history,” Surface said.
The initial report of the incident came in at 5:12 p.m. as a robbery at the sporting goods store in the Jackson Park shopping center on Seymour’s east side. Suspects were seen taking armfuls of clothing before fleeing in a black Ford car with tinted windows and a temporary license plate tag on the back, Surface said. Less than an hour later, Harris located a vehicle matching the description northbound at the 80-mile-marker on Interstate 65. Once the vehicle was stopped, Harris walked up to it and immediately detected the odor of marijuana inside, Surface said. During a probable-cause search of the vehicle, Harris located the stolen merchandise from Hibbett’s Sports, Surface said. The items filled four trash bags and are estimated to be valued around $2,000, he said. [Source: The Republic]
Shoplifting more than $10,000 in goods leads to probation
The Gillette College student in Wyoming who claimed her shoplifting was research for a college term paper on kleptomania will spend five years on supervised probation. Lydia Marie Cormaney, 24, stole more than $10,000 in merchandise from Walmart, Smith’s and Office Depot last spring. Among the items recovered from her dorm room were 140 DVDs, kitchen appliances, racks of spices, clothes and 124 bottles of fingernail polish.
During three weeks last spring, Cormaney stole hundreds of items undetected. She often placed the merchandise in reusable shopping bags before walking out of stores, according to court documents. She said she was only stopped once when she tried to leave Walmart with three flat screen TVs. Police caught her at Walmart last June when she tried to roll a cart full of nearly $2,000 in unpaid items out of the tire shop. Cormaney was released shortly after on bond In January, she pleaded guilty to two counts of felony shoplifting and two counts of misdemeanor shoplifting as part of a plea agreement. [Source: Casper Star-Tribune]
Police arrest four suspects in connection with thefts
Pleasant Prairie Police in Wisconsin arrested three men and a teenager after a loss prevention associate recognized them at a discount store as suspects who allegedly stole electronic and other media devices from the same store two times before in the last month. The arrests occurred at 7:30 p.m., after an asset protection associate contacted police about a theft in progress at Target according to Lt. Paul Marik of the Pleasant Prairie Police Department. DeWayne Bounds, 32; Edward J. Harness, 26; Demario Gray, 25; and a 15-year-old boy, all of Milwaukee were arrested after being discovered in the same Target that the group is alleged to have stolen from on May 18 and May 28.
According to a criminal complaint in the case filed, charges of felony retail theft — intentionally take (greater than $500 but less than $5,000), party to a crime, and misdemeanor retail theft — intentionally take (less than $500), party to a crime, have been filed against Bounds. Harness faces felony retail theft — intentionally take (greater than $500 but less than $5,000), party to a crime; six counts of misdemeanor bail jumping; misdemeanor retail theft — intentionally take (less than $500), party to a crime; obstructing an officer; and felony possession with intent to deliver THC (less than or equal to 200 grams). Gray was arrested pending charges of party to a crime of retail theft and obstructing officers. The 15-year-old was arrested pending charges of retail theft. [Source: Kenosha News]
Black woman handcuffed, accused of shoplifting after returning items
A Memphis, Tennessee, woman said she was handcuffed at a Victoria’s Secret in Collierville for no reason other than the color of her skin. An employee at Victoria’s Secret forgot to remove the sensor on a bra she purchased recently at the store in Carriage Crossing. On Monday, she took the bra back to have the sensor removed. “I told her she could keep the bag up there. I was going to go look around the store,” Jovita Jones told FOX13.
As she made her way to the dressing room with new items to purchase, Jones spotted a police officer walking toward her. “He could have asked, ma’am, can I search your bag? He didn’t do any of that. He just came in and slapped handcuffs on me. He made up in his mind I was guilty,” Jones said. An employee had called police on the accomplished, educated shopper who has no criminal record. The store tried to make things right by offering Jones a $100 gift card, but she wasn’t having it. “I told her a $100 gift card is not going to take back the discrimination, humiliation, defamation that I faced in that store that day,” Jones said.
A spokesperson for the company issued this statement: “We are sincerely sorry for the experience Ms. Jones Cage had in our store. Bottom line, we made a mistake, and we do not tolerate this behavior. Our head of stores has been trying to reach Ms. Jones Cage to personally apologize for her experience. Victoria’s Secret is adamant that all customers be treated with dignity and respect. We have investigated the matter, and the associate involved is no longer employed with our brand. In addition, we are meeting with every associate in the store to reinforce our values and policies. We are committed to delivering an excellent shopping experience to every customer, every time … we have work to do – and we are dedicated to this mission.” [Source: Fox13 Memphis]