Mom recruits her 12-year-old son for shoplifting gig
A mother in Meriden, Connecticut, who police said had her 12-year-old son walk out of a store with more than $700 of stolen makeup was arrested. Erica Maisonet, 32, was charged Saturday with risk of injury and impairing the morals of a minor, Sgt. Darrin McKay said. She posted $1,000 bail and is due in Superior Court in Meriden on June 1. According to McKay, the attempted shoplifting happened about 1 p.m. at the Super Stop & Shop when Maisonet put $724 worth of health and beauty products into a recyclable bag and gave the bag to her 12-year-old, along with an old receipt from a different purchase, McKay said. She directed him to walk out while she went to a different part of the store, he said, but loss prevention associates stopped the boy. “Once he was out, I’m sure she would have followed,” McKay said. Maisonet told LP associates and police that she didn’t know her son had walked out of the store with the items. [Source: Hartford Courant]
On parole for robbery, shoplifter charged with ten crimes
The suspect was on parole for robbery and in possession of a stolen car. One would think he would be somewhat circumspect when shopping for tools or home repair products at Home Depot in Santa Barbara County, California. The last thing such an individual might think about, considering the abundance of store surveillance video cameras in such a retail establishment, would be committing a petty theft by shoplifting an item and then, once confronted by store security, attempting to flee the premises. However, that is exactly what 29-year-old Oxnard resident Jeffrey Morgan did in the afternoon on May 15th.
Once confronted by store security, Morgan drove off and soon found Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department (SBSD) units on his tail. Perhaps he didn’t understand how predictably these things transpire, when he “jumped out of his running vehicle. ” The vehicle then crashed into the SBSD black-and-white, “causing minor injuries to the deputy.” At that point, Morgan sprinted across the enormous Goleta Market Place shopping center parking lot. Then he “scaled a fence” and dashed across one of the area’s busiest intersections. Finally, enforcement pursuers brought him to ground in a nearby hotel parking lot.
Once apprehended and in custody at Santa Barbara County Jail, SBSD booked Morgan on far more than petty theft: felony resisting arrest, felony hit and run, burglary, felony vandalism, obstructing/delaying a police investigation, possession of a burglary tool, possession of hydrocodone, committing a felony while out on bail, possession of psilocybin , driving a vehicle with a suspended drivers license and possession of a stolen vehicle. Morgan remains in custody on a no-bail parole hold. He is undoubtedly considering the wisdom of not stopping at the Home Depot checkout counter to pay for his merchandise. [Source: Crime Voice]
Alleged shoplifter leads police on high-speed parking lot chase
Authorities allege that an Allentown, Pennsylvania, man trying to flee a shoplifting arrest led police on a high-speed chase through a Walmart parking lot before causing a wreck that injured a passenger. Daniel Adams Jr., of 10th Street, faces shoplifting and fleeing and eluding charges following his arrest outside a Walmart in Lower Macungie Township. District Judge Patricia Engler arraigned the 54-year-old Tuesday night, setting bail at $50,000.
Pennsylvania State Police with the Fogelsville barracks were dispatched to Walmart Tuesday for a reported shoplifter, who allegedly walked out the door with about $300 worth of merchandise, according to court records.
Records indicate he allegedly tried to steal two stools worth $30, food and tools worth about $70 and a $170 Lego set. As loss prevention associates approached the man, he ran out of the store and into a silver Dodge Durango. Loss prevention associates told state police that the man later identified as Adams was driving through the back of the store parking lot, according to court records. A trooper approached the vehicle, prompting Adams to speed away around other cars, according to court records. Police said Adams refused to stop, driving around the back of the store and around the parking lot at about 50 mph, according to court records.
Police said he dodged several pedestrians and vehicles before heading toward an exit. Adams allegedly drove around a vehicle at a stop sign and onto Mill Creek Road, where he drove directly into the path of a Mercury Mariner. The Mariner struck the right side of Adams’ vehicle. Police said the passenger in the Mariner sustained a major leg injury. LP associates identified Adams as the alleged shoplifter. Police charged Adams with retail theft, fleeing and eluding, reckless driving and driving without insurance. He failed to post bail and was sent to Lehigh County Jail to await a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 30. [Source: WFMZ69 News]
Police officer watches thief on camera, nabs suspect in parking lot
A man is facing a third-degree theft charge after a Gresham, Oregon, Police officer reported watching him shoplift on a live feed from the store’s surveillance cameras. The officer arrested Scott McCoy in the parking lot after a loss prevention associate pointed out his car in the lot. The incident started when the officer was in the store’s loss prevention office as part of a separate theft case.“The officer watched the cameras as McCoy walked out of the store with the stolen items and refused to stop when told by security officers,” Gresham Police said.
The police officer went into the parking lot, where McCoy was still driving around. The officer pulled him over, letting him know that he’d watched the whole situation play out on the surveillance cameras. McCoy was booked into the Multnomah County Jail and has since been released. “Note: We at the Gresham Police Department don’t condone theft or crime of any kind. We do however like it when criminals make our job easy. For that, we say thank you,” they said in a press release. [Source: KATU2 News]
Personal shopper admits to shoplifting
A personal shopper at Bergdorf Goodman had one favorite client: herself. Admitted shoplifter Remi Landau apparently couldn’t resist all the high-end merchandise she lavished on her clients and was discovered swiping more than $6,000 in luxury goods from the Manhattan department store, according to court papers. The 23-year-old from Scarsdale was allegedly caught red-handed on March 21 attempting to slip out of an employee entrance at the flagship Fifth Avenue store with a $1,880 haul. A loss prevention associate noticed the now-ex employee doing some shopping of her own, pulling items off display racks and secreting the garments into a large bag, the court documents claim. She was confronted after she tried to flit out of an employee exit, the stolen items still in her bag, according to legal papers.
Landau later conceded in writing that she’d started lifting clothing from her former workplace in June 2017 and had taken around $6,095 in the months prior to her arrest. She copped Monday to a single charge of petit larceny, avoiding time behind bars. According to her resume, Landau interned at premium-cable network Epix before her gig at Bergdorf. Before that, she was a “litigation intern” at asbestos-disease personal-injury law firm Weitz & Luxenberg, where convicted former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was “of counsel” and got into trouble for steering clients to a cancer researcher in exchange for kickbacks.
When asked Monday by a judge if she’d stolen, the sticky-fingered Syracuse University graduate looked at the floor and murmured, “Yes.” Landau originally faced felony charges of third-degree grand larceny and third-degree criminal possession of stolen property. But under the plea deal, she will avoid jail completely if she continues in an unspecified treatment program. And if she stays out of trouble for a year, she’ll be allowed to re-plead down to a violation as part of the deal. Landau, whose Facebook page shows her enjoying premium seats at a New York Rangers hockey game, lounging on a beach and on a jaunt to Barcelona, is due back in court in November. [Source: New York Post]
Syracuse woman sentenced for stealing ‘hundreds’ of credit card numbers
A Syracuse, New York, woman will spend a little over 4 years in prison for her role in a years-long credit card cloning operation. 27-year-old Taylor Boyd-White admitted to her involvement in the scheme, which included the purchase of stolen credit card numbers belonging to hundreds of different victims. Many of the stolen credit card accounts were purchased from computer hackers located overseas. Boyd-White also admitted that she and her co-conspirators used the cloned cards to purchase thousands of dollars in merchandise and prepaid gift cards. These were later used to purchase money orders, which they converted into cash. She pleaded guilty to commit wire-fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Her criminal conduct spanned from 2014 through 2016 and took place in Syracuse and the state of Georgia. [Source: LocalSYR]