WATCH: Crooks seen robbing phone store in new surveillance video
Police are hoping newly released surveillance video will help them catch the crooks behind an Aventura, Florida, phone store break-in. The video shows a pair of bandits using a sledgehammer to smash their way into a Sprint store located at Northeast 178th Street and Biscayne Boulevard, at 3 a.m., last Friday. One subject could be seen emptying out a locker while the other stuffs a duffel bag with what appears to be cell phones.
When employees returned to work that morning, they were greeted with a mess. “Everything was on the floor. The registers were yanked off. They took products from the back. The glass was damaged,” said an employee, who spoke to 7News under condition of anonymity. While the value of all the things they stole remains unclear, the video showed them making off with a ton of loot.
“They came to the back. They took merchandise from the back,” the employee said. “It was horrible. Big theft. Whoever it is, we need to find them. If you know who they are, please let us know.” If you have any information on this robbery, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954.493.TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward. [Source: 7News Miami]
Boys 12 and 8 break into store; steal e-cigarettes
Two Redmond, Oregon boys, 8 and 12, have been identified as the pair who broke a window in a convenience store, climbed in and stole e-cigarettes from a display case a week ago, police said Friday. The break in the case came when the middle-schooler brought one to school and was arrested. Officers were notified around 1 a.m. last Friday, of a burglary that had just occurred at the Westside One Stop Chevron, Lt. Curtis Chambers said. They searched the building and area and found no suspects.
Surveillance video showed two young suspects inside, stealing e-cigarettes from a display case. They broke a window to climb in, left and returned a second time, fleeing when they were observed by a witness, Chambers said. On Thursday, a Redmond Police school resource officer responded to Elton Gregory Middle School to help staff with a boy who possessed an e-cigarette. The officer recognized the brand of e-cigarette as the one stolen in the burglary and the boy resembled the suspect in the video, Chambers said.
The officer who took the initial burglary report happened to be on duty and also responded to investigate. As a result, two boys, 12 and 8, were identified as the suspects. The older boy, a Redmond resident, was arrested and released to his parents, facing charges of second-degree burglary and criminal mischief, and second- and third-degree theft. The 8-year-old also was identified but was not arrested. Chambers said state law says a child must be at least 12 before being arrested or charged with a crime, except in “rare circumstances.” [Source: NewsChannel21]
UPS to hire 40K employees in one day
UPS said it plans to hire 40,000 new employees Friday, dubbing the Black Friday preparation “UPS Brown Friday.” The company plans to hire 100,000 seasonal workers to meet holiday shipping demands, and it says the “one-day hiring blitz” is part of that effort. UPS is holding nearly 170 hiring fairs across the country Friday, and said it will be hiring thousands of candidates on the spot. Applicants who apply on Friday could be signed up for a seasonal role by Monday, UPS said.
What’s more, seasonal hires create a strong candidate pool for the employer. In the last three years, 35% of candidates who started off as seasonal employees went on to permanent positions after the holiday rush. In total, the company says more than 125,000 workers, about one-third of its workforce, started off as a seasonal hire. [Source: SupplyChainDrive]
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Suspect accused of setting store fire to cover shoplifting
A man is accused of setting a fire inside a South Carolina Walmart as a diversion for shoplifting, according to an Anderson Police report. Police say Michael Travis Robinson set fire to a product inside the store causing extensive smoke and water damage to the store. Anderson Fire Department Lt. Travis Poore said the fire happened around 2:30 p.m. on October 15 at the Walmart at 651 Highway 28 Bypass.
Poore said the fire was in the back of the store in the photo and toy area. Customers and employees were evacuated from the store, which closed following the fire. No one was hurt in the incident and investigators were able to identify Robinson as the suspect. They say he was trying to create a diversion so he could shoplift and he was arrested Thursday morning at 12 a.m. Robinson was charged with Shoplifting and Arson in the Second Degree. His bond is set at $10,000. [Source: 7News]
Pair busted retail burglary spree stretching from Paramus to Albany
Two Brooklyn men were captured and charged with four Kay Jewelers burglaries and one at Nordstrom in Paramus that netted more than $250,000 in valuables, ending a nine-month spree that authorities said stretched from Central Jersey to Albany. Paramus and NYPD detectives teamed up to nab Gerald Williams, 45, and Tony Newton, 56, ending a The pair cut through the front security gate of the Kay Jewelers at the Garden State Plaza after closing time on Jan. 13 and ransacked the display cases, Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
The lead investigator, borough Detective Nicholas Luciano of the Special Investigations Unit, assisted by Officer Daniel DeRienzo and detectives who included Lt. Frank Scott – tied the pair to three other break-ins at Paramus Kay Jeweler Stores and one at the Garden State Plaza’s Nordstrom, the chief said. Over the next few months, Luciano, DeRienzo and NYPD Sgt. Robert Olson reviewed video tape collected from burglaries across New Jersey and New York, Ehrenberg said. Soon, they identified Williams and Newton in burglaries of two Kay Jewelers burglaries at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison and several that stretched to Albany, he said. With assistance from the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Intelligence Unit, they identified a stolen van used in the burglary of the Kay Jewelers at Bergen Town Center, which was later recovered in Brooklyn.
Surveillance video showed the pair committing a September 29 burglary at a Garden State Plaza kiosk, Ehrenberg said. They were using the stolen van at the time, he said. Luciano and Olson found the van the next day in Newton was in it. After arresting him, they found Williams, whom they said is related to Newton, at his Brooklyn home. Both were extradited to New Jersey and remained held in the Bergen County Jail, charged with various counts of burglary, theft possession of stolen property and operation of an organized retail theft enterprise. Ehrenberg thanked the NYPD, the FBI, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and Edison police for their roles in the investigation. [Source: Cresskill Daily Voice]
Amazon Air lands in Miami
Amazon Air has launched a twice daily Prime Air-branded Boeing 767-300F service through Miami International Airport (MIA). The service, connecting the Florida gateway to other airports across the US, is operated by Atlas Air Worldwide. A facility at MIA sorts the Amazon packages prior to their flight out on the Atlas freighters. Lester Sola, Miami-Dade aviation director said: “Amazon Air’s two daily flights will add a significant boost to our domestic cargo traffic, which is already up 17% through August.”
Amazon Air director Sarah Rhoads described the launch of flights through the Miami gateway as a boost to Amazon’s “growing air operation”. Amazon also operates four warehouses in Miami-Dade County, all within 12 miles of MIA… the largest of which is a new 885,000 square foot fulfillment center located at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, which was completed earlier this year. [Source: AirCargoNews]
