Apple watch heist: 22 worth $8,655 gone
The Wilkesboro Police Department is investigating the theft of 22 Apple watches worth $8,655 from the Walmart Supercenter in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Officer C.G. Colbert said he and Sgt. Ronnie Price were dispatched to Walmart to speak to Jamie Patterson, Walmart loss prevention associate, about a larceny that occurred early that morning.
Colbert said Patterson reported that a security video showed a black male wearing a blue hat, black coat, black athletic pants and white shoes enter the store that day, pick up a book bag and go to the electronics department while keeping his face covered. The male subject took Apple watches from a box that was locked before he forced it open with a pry bar and then stuffed the watches in the book bag after first looking to see if anyone was around, said Colbert. The watches ranged in price from about $250 to about $500.
The video showed the male subject exiting the store and entering a sport utility vehicle in the parking lot, said Colbert, adding that he couldn’t determine the type of vehicle or its tag number from the video. Colbert said Patterson stated that no one stopped the male subject or reported anything about a man acting suspiciously. [Source: Wilkes Journal-Patriot]
Suspect uses stolen CC at store where he was a member
A Florida man who pilfered personal items from someone else’s car made it easy for Volusia County sheriff’s detectives to find him when he used the credit card he stole to buy video games at a store where he was a member and had applied for a job, officials said.
Dylon Santana, 20, stole the credit card along with a handgun and ammunition from a truck he burglarized at an East Normandy Boulevard sheriff’s investigators said.
Along with the gun and ammunition, Santana took the resident’s wallet containing his driver’s license, concealed weapon license, military ID, credit and debit card, from the truck that was left unlocked, Gant said.
The manager of the store provided deputies with information on Santana, who was a member of the store and used his membership card when he made the purchases, investigators said. [Source: The Daytona Beach News Journal]
Shopko plans for closure of all retail operations
After stores across Nebraska were spared in the first round of closures, Skopko announced plans on Monday to end all retail operations nationwide. A Shopko manager confirmed with NTV News that he had just found out about the closures, with will begin this week.
Shopko representatives said they will not move forward with the auction that it previously contemplated, and Gordon Brothers will oversee a liquidation process that is expected to last 10-12 weeks. There are currently 24 Shopko stores open across Nebraska, some of which were already slated to close. [Source: Nebraska.TV News]
Prison guard accused of shoplifting… again
A corrections officer at the Ohio State Penitentiary is once again accused of shoplifting at the Boardman Walmart. The loss prevention associate at the Doral Drive store told township police that video surveillance showed 44-year-old Julianna Stefek of Poland hide a $19 jar of pomade under her purse as she went through the checkout lane. When Stefek was stopped in the store, she told the LP associate “This time it was a mistake. Not like the last time,” according to the police report. Stefek is likely referring to a 2017 shoplifting arrest at the same store.
According to 21 News archives, Stefek was charged with theft after she allegedly bagged $71 worth of merchandise at the self-checkout, but only paying $24. That charge was eventually dismissed. This time Stefek has been issued a court summons for theft and also given a criminal trespass warning. Penitentiary Public Information officer Tom Horton tells 21 News that Stefek has been off for the last few days and won’t be back to work until Wednesday. [Source: WFMJ21 News]
Felonious shoplifter gets 3 years behind bars
A 57-year-old South Boston, Virginia, man, William Michael White, will serve an effective three years in prison for felony shoplifting after being sentenced in Halifax County Circuit Court on Friday. Judge S. Anderson Nelson sentenced White to five years in prison, with all but three years suspended, for felony shoplifting.
Nelson also sentenced White to a 12-month suspended sentence for identity theft, he revoked six months of White’s previous sentence for a probation violation on a felony offense, and he revoked but re-suspended any time for another probation violation. Nelson ordered the suspended portion of White’s sentence be conditioned on his good behavior for five years, ordered him to be placed on probation for two years and ordered him to pay $56.99 restitution to Walmart. [Source: The Gazette-Virginian]
Goodwill using AI to spot counterfeit merchandise
You know Goodwill as the place to donate your used stuff and shop for second-hand items, too. But the organization also sees more unique things sent their way. We are getting designer handbags every day through our donations,” explained Nicole Suydam, who runs Goodwill of Orange County, California. Everybody knows Goodwill as the retail stores… but most people aren’t aware that we also have an e-commerce platform called shopgoodwill.com,” explained Suydam.
The website is sort of an eBay, but for the most unique Goodwill inventory nationwide. It did 115 million dollars in sales last year. Now, in an effort to weed out counterfeits, they’re using technology from a company named Entrupy. “Really we’ve created the only technology to authenticate luxury goods anywhere, anytime,” said Deanna Thompson of Entrupy.
The process is pretty simple: workers use a modified iPod Touch outfitted with special software and a close-up lens to take various pictures of the item.This includes microscopic shots of the outer and inner materials, the stitching, logos, embossed text, zippers, buttons and more. The process only takes a minute.
“We took about 4 years collecting data and we have taught algorithms to determine whether an item is authentic or counterfeit,” explained Thompson. One an associate has taken the pictures, the data is sent to the cloud for verification. Results are returned in seconds. “Data is authenticating it. It’s removing the human emotion, so it either is or it isn’t,” said Thompson.
We tested several designer purses at the shopgoodwill.com warehouse in Orange County. Some of the items came back as authentic, others were deemed “not verified.” This means that the system couldn’t say for sure that they were the real thing, and Goodwill won’t sell them. The other side of this is that Entrupy backs each authenticated purse with a certificate. [Source: KTLA5 News]