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Breaking News in the Industry: November 14, 2018

Three charged with shoplifting from two stores

Three men from North Carolina were charged with theft-related charges after allegedly shoplifting from two different stores in Greene County, Tennessee, on Saturday. Emmanuel Joseph Hoye Norton, 26, was charged with receiving or concealing stolen property, according to a report from the Greene County Sheriff’s Department. Lawson Ray Norton, 52, was charged with theft of less than $1,000, the report stated. Isaac Tyler Surrett was charged with aiding and abetting the theft of less than $1,000, and Schedule II drug violations, the report stated. A syringe was found inside the vehicle where Surrett was a passenger.

The three were arrested by Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy William Carr while he investigated a report of shoplifting at the Dollar General Store on the 107 Cutoff. Carr pursued the men’s vehicle and stopped them down the road from the store, discovering the stolen merchandise from Dollar General and Walmart. The merchandise, valued at $181, was returned to Dollar General.

All three were also charged with theft of property in relation to a shoplifting incident at Walmart earlier in the day, according to a report from the Greeneville Police Department. All three men were identified by the loss prevention manager at the Walmart store as the individuals who had pushed a buggy out of the store with merchandise valued at $1,000 without paying, according to a report from the Greeneville Police Department.   [Source: The Greenville Sun]

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Warrant issued for employee stealing lottery tickets

The Wilkesboro Police Department in North Carolina charged a woman with larceny by an employee in connection with the theft of lotttery tickets from her place of employment. Sergeant B.J. McManus on Tuesday secured a warrant charging Kourtney Markaisha Carlton, 19, of Wilkesboro.

McManus said the manager of the Run-In convenience store on Monday reported that Carlton, a clerk at the store, took and played numerous scratch-off lottery tickets without paying for them on Sunday. He said the manager reported that Carlton rang up some of the lottery tickets, but only those that won money. The specific number of lottery tickets wasn’t determined, but the store was short $722 in lottery monies. McManus said an area Run-In manager told him he would provide a copy of a surveillance video show Carlton’s actions with the lottery tickets.   [Source: Wilkes Journal-Patriot]

Supply chain workers and businesses disrupted and displaced by California wildfires

Three active wildfires in California are endangering truck drivers and displacing thousands of businesses and residents. Though the fires are causing catastrophic damage to communities in terms of record fatalities and lost property, the smoke that results may have a greater impact on supply chains as it can create health hazards for workers and visibility issues for vehicles.

An Amazon warehouse with at least 2,000 employees in Sacramento… located more than 80 miles from Paradise, California, where the largest fire began, closed Saturday because of the health hazard caused by the smoke, and as of Monday there were no firm plans to re-open, reported the Sacramento Bee. Reports also indicated that flights have been delayed out of San Francisco International Airport.

The Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California closed a section of the Pacific Coast Highway for four days and in addition to disruptions to the retailer operations in the affected areas, deliveries across carriers are likely to be thrown-off as well. USPS has closed eight post offices in the Sacramento and Los Angeles districts. Apart from road closures, smoke and wind can make it dangerous to drive heavy vehicles and therefore delay deliveries.   [Source: SupplyChainDIVE]

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Fleeing shoplifter accused of hitting guard with car

Tulsa police arrested Tiffane Liggins after they said she hit a security guard with her car to while trying to get away after shoplifting at a Tulsa Aldi. Police said Liggins had her daughter distract the security guard while she ran out of the store with items she didn’t pay for.

When the guard tried to get Liggins’ license plate number, she backed up and hit him before driving off. Police arrested Liggins a few days later on different charges when she tried to return the stolen items at an Aldi in Owasso. She turned herself in Thursday. Tulsa police arrested Tiffane Liggins after they said she hit a man with her car to while trying to get away after shoplifting.   [Source: Fox23 News]

Detention facility warden of is out after shoplifting charge

The warden of Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility downtown has left his job after an arrest for shoplifting. Ronald K. Malone, 60, of Oak Creek, had been in charge of the state-run facility since 2015. The detention facility, operated by the Department of Corrections, is meant to house people arrested on suspected violations of probation or extended supervision conditions. But many inmates wind up spending weeks or even several months in windowless cells of the high-rise building that looms over I-43 at State Street. Critics have called for it to be shut down.

According to Oak Creek police records, the Woodman’s store in Oak Creek had been accumulating evidence of Malone leaving the store without paying for items several times before contacting police after the fourth incident on October 14. The shoplifted items included things like a bottle of Aleve and a box of Febreze. Police arrested Malone at his Oak Creek home. Oak Creek municipal court records indicate Malone paid a $250 fine for a shoplifting citation from an October 14 incident. He announced his retirement effective immediately, DOC spokesman Tristan Cook said Friday.   [Source: Journal Sentinal]

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Why do they really check receipts at the doors?

If shoppers have one complaint about Costco, the vast discount warehouse chain with a notoriously permissive return policy and speedy checkout lanes, it’s that the employees posted at the exits to take a marker to customers’ receipts seem vaguely insulting. Is the premise that everyone is a shoplifter until proven otherwise? Not exactly. It’s to make sure that Costco isn’t picking the pockets of its customers.

According to employees who have made not-for-attribution comments, Costco is actually examining receipts to make sure a shopper hasn’t been overcharged for their purchases. Someone with three giant bundles of toilet paper in their cart, for example, might have been charged for four. By giving the receipt a cursory glance, the employee can make sure a cashier didn’t inadvertently ring up phantom crates of canned tuna.

Of course, if someone did try to wheel out several big-screen televisions without a receipt, the exit door employee would likely make an issue of it. But they’re not in loss prevention, and the measure isn’t intended to deter thieves. If you do have something in your cart you didn’t pay for, their immediate assumption is that the mistake is almost certainly the result of a cashier not scanning the item.   [Source: Mental Floss]

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