CBP seizes counterfeit Nikes valued at $1.7M
Knockoff sneakers are big business… except if you get caught. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Port of Newark and New York seized more than 9,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike sneakers on their way to California.
The shoes, if authentic, would have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $1,695,600. The shipment was intercepted in September en route to an address in Chino, California, from Dongguan City, China, and CBP says that agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement are continuing to investigate the case. [Source: Footwear News]
Employee admits to fake robbery
A 19-year-old north Jefferson County woman in Alabama has been charged with Theft of Property and Making a False Report after an investigation revealed that she made up a story about being robbed of her employer’s bank deposit.Deputies responded to the report of a robbery of a person in a parking lot in the 6600 block of Alabama Highway 75. It was reported by 19-year-old Megan Michael that she had been robbed of the bank deposit for her employer.
She reported that she had volunteered to drop off the deposit from Dollar General at the bank and as she was walking to her car she was approached by a man with a knife. She further reported there was a second man waiting in a nearby car with a gun. She continued with saying the man with the knife demanded the deposit, that she struggled with him, but he got the money and fled in the car with the other man. There were no witnesses. Deputies searched the area, but no suspect or vehicle described was located.
On December 3, the store manager reported that Michael admitted that she had lied and had taken the money. She returned the money to the store. Michael was taken into custody and questioned by detectives. She again admitted the robbery was a hoax so she could steal the money. [Source: Birmingham Patch]
Employee stops theft, then gets fired
In Greenfield, Indiana, an employee is upset with CVS Pharmacy after a robbery at his store. Zacharia Phillips claimed he was fired for stopping a thief from stealing drugs and he doesn’t think it was fair. Surveillance video captured two CVS employee pulling a man to the ground as he tried to run out the front door. Phillips is one of the workers in the video. He said the man pushed a pharmacist and attempted to take Oxycodone.
His quick decision though cost him his job. Phillips said his boss fired him and his coworker a few days later. “I was defending myself, defending my pharmacist,” he said. Phillips has been working for CVS for five years. Phillips said the company told him he violated their policy. “If we get attacked, we are not even allowed to defend ourselves,” Phillips said.
Phillips said it happened so quick that he didn’t have time to think about CVS’ policy. He does not regret his decision. “He could have been out to hurt somebody else or endangered somebody’s life if he had gotten drugs,” Phillips said. CVS Pharmacy said the safety and well-being of their customers and employees is always their highest priority.
CVS released the following statement: “We have stringent security policies and procedures in place to prohibit actions by employees that would jeopardize their safety and the safety of others. The actions of two employees at our Greenfield store during a recent attempted robbery violated those policies and procedures by initiating a physical confrontation, which led to our decision to separate them from the company.” [Source: CBS4Indy]
Shoplifter busted: ‘I was just Christmas shopping’
A man arrested for allegedly shoplifting about $1,100 worth of merchandise from J.C. Penney in Illinois on Monday told police he was Christmas shopping, according to a report filed at the Peoria Police Department.
The responding officer found the 47-year-old man pulling a suitcase out of the Northwoods Mall store. The loss prevention associate said she had seen the man stuffing clothes and shoes into the suitcase, and that he’d left the store without paying for it, the report said.
Recovered were four pairs of shoes, eight shirts, two sweatshirts, and three pairs of jeans. Also recovered was the suitcase. After he was arrested, the man said, “I’m just trying to do some Christmas shopping. I did something stupid,” according to the report. [Source: Journal Star]
Shoplifters brawl with cops
In Alabama, two adults and four juveniles face charges after a reported shoplifting Saturday night resulted in a brawl between the suspects and police officers who responded to the call. Gadsden Police Sgt. John Hallman said officers were called to the store in the 300 block of East Meighan Boulevard after loss prevention associates reported suspects shoplifting.
Officers tried to detain the suspects and they tried to run, then resisted officers. Hallman said no injuries were reported. The adults were arrested and the juveniles will face charges in juvenile court. [Source: The Gadsden Times]
Retailer deploys floor-scrubber robots
Walmart is employing autonomous floor scrubbers to speed up the chore and free up janitorial workers’ time to get other tasks done, according to Walmart and the company making the machines, San Diego-based software technology company Brain Corp. Their BrainOS platform gives the machines autonomous navigation and data collection capabilities tied to a cloud-based system, according to a company press release. Walmart brought the robot scrubbers into 78 stores in October, and plans to have some 360 in total, according to a company blog post. [Source: RetailDive]