Shoplifting Videos And Incidents

June 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (12)The retail industry losses are approximately $13 billion dollars a year. Some of the preventing security devices they most rely on are closed circuit television installed in their stores that are visible by the employees and customers alike. Hidden security cameras are also employed, although a bit less than the visible cameras. Still, the retail loses are great with all the security devices, and employee security they provide for their stores.

Read more about the shoplifting in the retail industry by following the links below.

Kelly’s Stupid Criminals of the week!

Featuring this week a drunken, shirtless Maryland man was busted trying to steal candy from a Subway restaurant in Prince Frederick. He was wearing only shorts and a pair of white socks when Calvert County Sheriff’s Deputies arrived to investigate reports of a suspicious person. One of the deputies spotted tipsy suspect trying to slip some candy into his pocket, authorities said.

And a woman is facing charges for attacking a teenager who flew a quadcopter drone over the beach in Hammonasset Beach State Park, CT. Andrea Mears, 23, is accused of assaulting Austin Haughwout, 17, on May 12 after she noticed a flying drone with a camera attached on it flying over the Middle Beach at Hammonasset. She was charged with third degree assault and second degree breach of peace, police said. Mears told ABC News that she had called the police complaining about “a little remote-operated plane flying over the beach.” Before the police arrived, Mears tracked down Austin Haughwout, pilot of the drone, and confronted him at the park.

Dumbest thief ever logs into Facebook on victim’s computer during burglary, forgets to log out

The world is full of truly stupid would-be criminals but one Minnesota man might have just taken the crown for the title of World’s Stupidest Thief. CBS Minnesota reports that police arrested 26-year-old Nicholas Wig for allegedly burglarizing a home in South St. Paul on June 19th after his victim discovered that Wig had used his computer to log into his Facebook page and never logged out before leaving. When police arrived to arrest Wig, they also found that he was wearing his victim’s wrist watch, which obviously won’t help with any potential defense.

Parents Sue Walmart, Police Over Livonia Shoplifting Stop

The parents of a mentally disabled woman are suing Walmart and police after she was stopped for suspected shoplifting at a Detroit-area store.

Wendy Kozma of Novi tells the Detroit Free Press her 25-year-old daughter, Jodi, who has the mental capacity of an 8-year-old, now is terrified of police after being handcuffed and questioned at a Walmart in Livonia. Records show she didn’t steal anything.

Wendy and John Kozma want an apology along with unspecified financial damages and assurance that police and store security follow proper procedures when dealing with disabled people. They filed a complaint with police in August 2012, when their daughter was stopped, and recently sued.

Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart says it believes its associates acted appropriately. Livonia police sent a letter to the Kozmas denying wrongdoing.

Annapolis beauty shop employee pepper-sprayed during shoplifting incident

An Annapolis-area beauty shop employee was pepper-sprayed Saturday while attempting to stop a suspected shoplifter.

When Anne Arundel County police responded to the Ulta Beauty store in Annapolis Harbour Center shortly after 3:30 p.m., an employee told them that a woman had put about $1,000 worth of perfume into a bag and attempted to leave without paying.

An employee approached the woman and attempted to grab the bag, but a second woman waiting in front of the store pepper-sprayed the employee in the face, police said.

The suspects fled in a newer model white four-door car with the rear license plate covered by a plastic bag, police said. Officers searched the area but were unable to find the suspects or the car.

The employee who was pepper-sprayed was treated by Fire Department personnel at the scene and transported to a local hospital for further treatment, police said. The store manager also was exposed to the pepper spray, but declined medical treatment.

Police said the suspect who took the merchandise is a heavyset black woman, possibly in her 20s, and she was wearing a gray T-shirt and black pants. The suspect who used the pepper spray is black, possibly in her 20s, and she was wearing a black shirt and white shorts.

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The Typical Characteristics of Embezzlers

June 23, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (8)The crime of embezzlement is on the rise. There are many reasons for why it’s on the increase. One of the reasons is that business owners and managers don’t envision the embezzler as a potential criminal. The average embezzler doesn’t fit the idea of a stereotypical offender, therefore, supervision becomes lax. This leaves people and situations not monitored as well as they should be.

Embezzlers share more characteristics with the general populace than with other criminals. As a result, it’s important for managers and business owners to understand the profile of the average embezzler. Here are their most typical characteristics.

Age –They’re usually older than other criminals, past 30, and they begin their criminal activity at a much later age. Those who’re classified as major embezzlers often begin in their early 40s. (2011 Marquet Report on Embezzlement).

Family situation – Most are married with traditional family situations. They usually come from intact and stable families of origin.

Education – As a rule, they have higher levels of education than the average criminal.

Race – The majority of perpetrators are white.

Employment/Criminal History – Nearly all of them are first-time offenders with clean employment histories. Over 80% have never been charged with a crime or terminated from a job. (2012 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Report)

Job Responsibility – It’s estimated that professional and managerial staff commit 40%, clerical, bookkeepers and other employees commit 40% and senior officers and owners commit 20% of embezzlements.

The size of the loss is frequently related to the position the perpetrator holds. The median loss committed by owners/executives is $573,000, by managers $180,000 and by employees $60,000. (2012 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Report)

Gender – Until recently 70% of embezzlers were older males who’d attained a position of trust and authority, which provided the chance to commit the crime. But, with more women reaching positions of authority and responsibility, the percentage of female embezzlers has increased to 64% in the last several years. However, men on average steal significantly more than women. (2011 Marquet Report on Embezzlement).

Psychological Issues – Embezzlers usually don’t have an antisocial personality, which is much more common in other criminals. However, they do have mental health issues, most notably gambling problems (30%) and depression and/or anxiety, which may be as high as 80%.

It’s human nature to trust those who we perceive as being like us. Unfortunately, there’ll always be people who’ll take advantage of human nature. Managers can better protect their businesses by educating themselves about the typical characteristics of embezzlers.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

 

 

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New Shoplifting Videos

June 18, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (2)Preventing shoplifting against the amateur shoplifter and the professional shoplifter should be taken into account when purchasing a shop prevention system for your store. Can one system be as beneficial to guard against amateurs shoplifters as one for a professional? Should you install video camera equipment among other electronic devices for your store? At Loss Prevention Systems we have what you need to make shrinkage in your store something you can prevent. Call us, we will be happy to talk to you.

‘House of Lies’ Hot Chick Ayelet Ben-Shahar — Arrested for Grocery Shoplifting

1:24 A stunning Hollywood actress just got a starring role in a crime drama … she was arrested for shoplifting, but we’re not talking jewelry … we’re talking avocados.

Video catches court employee stealing cash

Police say a video showed a former Cobb County court employee pocketing money from the drug court.

That worker will soon find herself spending time behind bars and ironically reporting to the same drug-testing office where she once worked

For a decade, Tomasita Reavis worked in the drug court office. The 57-year-old woman was a trusted employee, married to a corrections officer.

But when the county’s drug unit planted cameras in the office to investigate missing cash, they almost immediately spotted Reavis sliding some of the cash that was supposed to be deposited in taxpayers’ accounts into her own purse and wallet.

Over just a few days on six occasions, Reavis would count up the cash, sending most to the bank, but keeping a wad for herself.

Reavis refused to tell the judge Wednesday why she did it or what she did with the money. She pleaded guilty to six theft counts.

Her attorney said Reavis was an honest person who simply succumbed to temptation.

Police: Shoplifting ring strikes again

PEABODY — Peabody police arrested one person of a suspected shoplifting ring from Boston yesterday afternoon, but two others managed to escape.

Jadea Duntin, 26, of 79 Rosseter St., Dorchester, was arrested at 2:50 p.m. on charges of shoplifting more than $250 worth of items from J.C. Penney at Northshore Mall, driving with a suspended license, and possession of instruments used for burgling.

Police said Duntin is part of a group of shoplifters known to the store’s loss prevention unit. The unit called police after recognizing three women who were shoplifting more than $1,000 at the time. The report stated that the women recently stole $5,000 worth of items.

Duntin was in possession of wire cutters, police said, which they believe she used to cut tags off items.

The two remaining women fled the scene at high speed with a child in a black Nissan Altima in the direction of the Cheesecake Factory. As of press time, they were still at large.

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Summer Employment And Theft

June 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (1)Billions of dollars are lost every year due to theft. Research shows that employee theft is one of the most costly thefts for an employer. A policy that clearly states your position for employee theft, and is clearly communicated to an employee when hired can make this costly issue more preventable. Making employee theft prevention a priority in your business will not only decreased shrinkage but will be a great deterrent against employee theft.

Read more about this issue by following the links below.

How to prevent summertime employee theft

With the summer season getting into full swing, many businesses are readying for one of the busiest times of year. Amidst the paperwork and new inventory, it is equally important to be mindful of the employee theft risk associated with this big business boost.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 75 percent of employees steal from their workplace and many do so repeatedly. For both summer businesses as well as traditional businesses with a high summer season, the use of seasonal employees is part of the business culture. Studies suggest seasonal employees have increased theft rates creating a dual challenge for business owners and managers – dealing with a large volume of business in a short period of time and managing risk to the business.

While there is no way to eliminate the risk of employee theft, a business can look to ways to minimize it. A business owner or manager can minimize the risk by understanding factors that can lead to employee theft and making adjustments in their business operations. There are multiple factors to consider; but rationalization, opportunity, and the expectation of getting caught are chief amongst them.

5 Clauses to Include in Summer Employment Contracts

Summer is here, and business own should be polishing their employment contracts for seasonal hires.

Here are the five must-have clauses for any summer employment contract:

1. Length of Contract (Term of Employment).

It’s important to be as specific as possible in defining the duration of a summer employee’s contract, so that there is no ambiguity as to when the position ends. A termination clause can also be folded into this area of an employment contract, specifying how either you or the summer hire can terminate employment with or without notice.

2. Compensation.

Don’t just gloss over this step. Be very exacting in describing the kind of compensation that a summer hire will receive. Include whether the employee will be paid hourly, salaried, or per completed project, as well as any benefits included with the position. This may be a good place to include your summer hire’s vacation policy, which does not have to include paid time off.

Checkpoint Systems Launches Next Generation of EAS Solutions

THOROFARE, N.J. – May 27, 2014 –Checkpoint Systems, Inc., (NYSE:CKP) a leading global supplier of merchandise availability solutions for the retail industry, today announced the launch of the next generation of intelligent electronic article surveillance (EAS) solutions.

The EVOLVE iRange, developed alongside global retailers, comprises six different state-of-the-art EAS antennas, a broad range of EAS labels designed for visible and source-tagging application to various types of merchandise, and the Counterpoint iD deactivation unit for faster and consistent deactivation at point-of-sale (POS).

Together, the portfolio promises to deter theft from potential shoplifters, a high degree of confidence that protected merchandise has been deactivated efficiently to avoid unpleasant false alarms for honest shoppers, and security that the antenna alarms are indeed shoplifting attempts so store personnel can respond appropriately.  Initial tests have resulted in increased product availability at test stores, improved in-store efficiency at the POS and an increase in positive attitudes towards the shopping experience for consumers.

EAS Jammer detection technology is one of the latest additions to the EVOLVE iRange. Integrated into antennas within the portfolio, the system identifies if an EAS ‘jammer’ has been brought into the store and activates an alarm, which alerts staff to the potential threat. . This acts as a strong deterrent for possible shoplifters and organized retail crime members, resulting in abandoning the shoplifting attempt.

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Preventing Shoplifting In Your Business

June 4, 2014 by Leave a Comment

law-3When a small business owner learns that an employee has been stealing from the business, many times they terminate the employee without prosecuting. Lawyer’s fee and other costs incurred by hiring an attorney sometimes do not make financial sense compared to the amount the employee has stolen. Prosecuting an employee who has been caught stealing can protect the company or small business owner against a civil law suit, and can help recover the company’s property, but most importantly it can serve as a deterrent to other employees.

Read more about this by following the links below.

10 ways to prevent theft, fraud by your employees

According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an employee is 15 times more likely than a non-employee to steal from an employer, and employees account for an estimated 44 percent of theft losses at stores. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that nearly a third of business failures are related to employee theft or fraud.

Employee theft is one of the most serious problems facing small business owners in the U.S.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an employee is 15 times more likely than a non-employee to steal from an employer, and employees account for an estimated 44 percent of theft losses at stores. The U.S. Department of Commerce reports that nearly a third of business failures are related to employee theft or fraud.

Business owners are rightly concerned — or should be. Employee misdeeds take many forms:

• Larceny (outright theft).

• Skimming (diverting business funds).

• Fraudulent disbursements (billing schemes, inflated expense reports, check tampering).

Checkpoint Systems Launches Next Generation of EAS Solutions

New EVOLVE iRange Offers Complete Solution to Retailers’ Merchandise Availability and Customer Satisfaction Challenges.

Checkpoint Systems, Inc., CKP -0.39% a leading global supplier of merchandise availability solutions for the retail industry, today announced the launch of the next generation of intelligent electronic article surveillance (EAS) solutions.

The EVOLVE iRange , developed alongside global retailers, comprises six different state-of-the-art EAS antennas, a broad range of EAS labels designed for visible and source-tagging application to various types of merchandise, and the Counterpoint iD deactivation unit for faster and consistent deactivation at point-of-sale (POS).

Together, the portfolio promises to deter theft from potential shoplifters, a high degree of confidence that protected merchandise has been deactivated efficiently to avoid unpleasant false alarms for honest shoppers, and security that the antenna alarms are indeed shoplifting attempts so store personnel can respond appropriately. Initial tests have resulted in increased product availability at test stores, improved in-store efficiency at the POS and an increase in positive attitudes towards the shopping experience for consumers.

Lakewood shoplifting gunman who fled with child in car identified

A man suspected of shoplifting, pointing a gun at a security guard and fleeing with a 2-year-old child in a Jeep SUV has been identified.

Angelo Erin Arellano, 29, was tracked and bitten by a police dog in Denver where officers found the suspect hiding, according to police.

The incident started in Lakewood about 11:10 a.m. Tuesday, when police were called about a pair of shoplifters at the Walmart at 7455 W. Colfax Ave., according to a Lakewood Police Department news release.

A store security guard who tried to stop the man and a woman told officers that the man pointed a gun and the couple fled in a Jeep.

Officers spotted the vehicle, leading to a chase into west Denver.

The Jeep stopped, and the driver, a man, bolted on foot.

Left behind in the SUV was 28-year-old Jamie Lee Carrillo and her 2-year-old child.

Arellano, found a short time later hiding in a nearby area, was taken into custody, police said.

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Why Employees Steal In Retail Loss Prevention, Atlanta

June 3, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (2)Over the 30 plus years the thousands of employees I caught during retail loss prevention theft investigations told me the reasons why they stole from their employers. One of the very most common reasons has been something like: “as a favor to help a friend out”. All of us refer to this as peer pressure. What still amazes me to this day is that an employee commits a serious felony that will potentially cause the loss of their freedom and civil penalties to help someone else out.

Many of us loss prevention and security professionals have heard this same reason over and over so many times. Why do they do it? There are several interesting factors. The main one being their age. We hear this a lot from 16 to 22 year olds. I feel this is because they think that fitting in with these so-called “buddies” is more important to them. That thought process is pretty strange to the rest of us until you think back to your own life when you were at that age. You may have started drinking or did something else that you now look back and say, “What in the world was I thinking?” All of this in order to “be friends”.

People in that age bracket also seem to feel like they are immune and they will not get caught. In that situation I always chuckle about the loss prevention investigations I conducted where a younger employee thought that they were the only one that ever thought of void or refund fraud, cash theft or some other retail theft that I had already put 500 people prior to them in jail for.

One retail loss prevention investigation I conducted is a particularly good example. Two 18 year old employees, female and male who had were girlfriend and boyfriend made the decision to steal cash and merchandise in the thousands of dollars. Their belief was that no one knew what they were doing. They thought that they were smarter that the rest of us including the manager.

The manager contacted me to start a loss prevention investigation after she noticed discrepancies in both merchandise and cash. I put the evidence together and it became very clear that it was the girlfriend/boyfriend. During the interviews with each of them I discovered the reason, they were stealing for each other (isn’t love great?) and they didn’t think anyone else would figure it out. They got to spend the next several years on probation paying back the retailer with interest and many hours of community service. They were put into separate community service programs since the Judge thought their love needed a little break.

Your loss prevention program should take these types of reasons into account if you want to keep your merchandise, assets and cash on YOUR bottom line. Make it clear to ALL employees that you will not tolerate any loss or theft. The only thing they are allowed to leave the store with that they did not bring in is the air in their lungs. The rest does not belong to them.

For more information on loss prevention security, retail loss prevention or loss prevention in general please contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

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Narcissistic Behaviors

June 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (13)Employee theft is probably one of the hardest forms of theft to detect and resolve. The problem is that these employees have an advantage over you. They know your systems, they know who is observant, and they know when the best times to steal are. Employees also have access to different processes and assets that shoplifters do not have.

An employee who is embezzling money, instead of stealing merchandise, typically will not show indicators that would make you initially suspicious. What we have found over years of investigations and interviews is that these employees do show other behavioral patterns. When combined with certain access to accounts, billing, and cash processing, the behavior should be a red flag to their employers.

The first warning sign is the employee displaying any overtly narcissistic behaviors. The textbook definition is that a narcissistic personality is a person who is excessively preoccupied with personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity, mentally unable to see the destructive damage they are causing to themselves and to others in the process.

Typically these employees will build themselves, their position and their responsibilities up. They withdraw other employee access to their jobs, saying the other employees simply cannot perform the job functions satisfactorily. The other employees are under qualified, and the employee is the only one who can do the job right.

They will then validate and secure their positions by saying they are the only ones who can do their job. What would you do if I left? No one else can do this, I have to be here. They will often change the way processes are done, or have their own filing system. They will do anything they can to simultaneously confuse anyone who attempts to look in on what they are doing, and validate how complicated their job is; in essence creating their own job security.

What they are actually doing is finding ways to keep everyone else out of their paperwork. If they are embezzling, they are siphoning money by creating false invoices or payments, they can be creating write offs, even when a customer pays in full. They can be floating money from one account to another to cover up the cash they are taking.

The solution is to be wary of any employee who is displaying these narcissistic behaviors. They are building themselves up, while pushing blame onto those around them in an attempt to derail you from becoming suspicious of them. Next, make sure you have a check and balance system in place. There should be a standard way to handle all accounting practices. No one should create their own system. This system should also have a periodic audit to ensure compliance and integrity of your books.

Even though it makes more sense financially to hire only one person to do all of your paperwork and accounting, have a second person split the responsibilities. Accounts payable and accounts receivable (sales, receiving, cash management) functions should be split to lessen the likely hood of an employee embezzling money from you.

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The Last Four Digits

June 2, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (10)There have been several well-publicized security breaches lately of some major national retailers. The breaches have been in their credit and debit card payment processing servers. Unknown hackers have been able to extract data that should have been encrypted to prevent unauthorized usage of this credit card data.

Anytime a credit or debit card is used at a cash register, the card machine captures the information on the magnetic strip. From there the information is scrambled about (encrypted) as it is sent to the respective banks to make the actual charge on the payment cards.

It was during the transmission of this encrypted information that hackers were able to capture the actual data, not the encrypted version. This left millions of consumers with compromised credit/ debit card information.

Now that this information is out there, the criminal element has access to it. Many underground websites will offer batches of credit card numbers, expiration dates, and often the verification codes on the backs of the cards. All of this information is sold for the right price.

Once the information is in hand, the criminals can make a new credit card. A typical process is to take a blank credit card and emboss the name (or alias) of the person going to use the card. If a cashier were to check the ID, it would then match.
The stolen information is put onto new magnetic strips, and these strips are put onto the card blank. Since the criminals will use the same card blank with multiple stolen card numbers, a generic credit card number is embossed on the card blank. The magnetic strip is the only thing changed out for each new stolen card number.

Since larger retailers are keeping a more watchful eye out for stolen cards, many criminals are going to smaller business that may not have the same level of security in place, but might carry just as desirable merchandise. To protect your business, the easiest way to verify a legitimate credit card vs. a criminal made stolen card is to verify the last four digits of the card being used.

The actual credit card (the stolen card) information is what your cash register will capture. It is extremely unlikely that the last four digits of the stolen card information will match the last four digits of the credit card number embossed into the card being presented. Any discrepancy in the two numbers should immediately be declined.

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Working On The Ground Level

May 31, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (8)In spite of all of my years of experience in catching shoplifters, I am always worried that they will spot me watching them. It’s not that it would be the worst thing that could possibly happen, mind you. More than likely the shoplifter will discard the merchandise before they make any attempts to walk out the door with it. It prevents the loss of product, which is ultimately what retail theft prevention is about.

What I personally don’t like is feeling like I have wasted all the time watching them, and the potential shoplifter leaves without any recourse. That means that they will probably come back in and make another attempt at stealing from my stores.

I spoke with one of my mentors about the concern and he gave me an interesting piece of advice- Get down on the ground to avoid detection. Now he wasn’t talking about sprawling down on the floor and staying there. He was talking about lowering down to avoid being in the shoplifters line of sight.

A shoplifter is trying to avoid detection at all costs. They are maintaining constant vigilance and eyesight towards anyone that comes within their line of sight. As such, they are focused primarily on the movements that are straight ahead, at their eye level.

A shoplifter is not looking down, to see if someone is kneeling down, spying on them. I have since developed my own trick to watching shoplifters closer up. I kneel down beside a table, or a rounder of clothing. So I don’t look suspicious to the shoplifter, or any other customers, I pretend to be tying my shoe. Even if my shoe doesn’t have actual laces on it, if I am fiddling with my shoe, no one is suspicious, and I am below the shoplifter’s line of sight.

Of all the cases I have watched that I have used this trick, not one shoplifter has known that I was watching them from a few feet away. I still feel like I could be noticed at any time, and I guess that feeling will never go away. I do know that my trick has been proven to work for me in the past, and will stay successful in the future.

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Anti Shoplifting Devices and your ROI

May 30, 2014 by Leave a Comment

theft (12)If you have a retail store, regardless of the products you choose to sell, there is always the risk of people walking out with merchandise without paying for it. How do you protect yourself from this happening, and how do you stop shrinkage from recurring in a daily basis? The initial investment you make in anti shoplifting devices can protect your business and offer you a ROI and peace of mind at the same time.

Follow the links below for more news about shoplifting.

The Value Of Anti Shoplifting Devices

Merchants everywhere know how theft impacts their annual revenue. Shop owners lose billions in revenue each year because of shoplifters. The financial damage caused by this crime is felt by retailers and the entire economy. To protect their livelihood, merchants need to install anti shoplifting devices and security systems that are reliable. To find the right system, retailers must understand how each system will work for them.

Security and anti theft tools have been designed specifically for the merchant. There are several different gadgets that are available that can include point of sale and audio monitors, video surveillance, inventory monitoring tools, and cameras. An anti shoplifting tool may be a combination of exit sensors and anti theft tags. The tags must be removed the a clerk during check out. If an item is taken through the door with the tag in place it sensor is triggered and an alarm is sounded.

Every shop has specific needs in regard to its security system. The shops requirements for security will be determined by several things. An example is the actual physical layout of the building. Also, the amount of traffic the establishment attracts daily, and the kind of merchandise the sore offers will influence the type of security that is needed. Stores that sell small digital and electronic items are much harder to monitor than those that sell larger merchandise like furniture.

Suffolk Police looking for Walmart shoplifting suspects

Suffolk Police are looking to identify two suspects involved in a shoplifting incident at the Walmart in the 6200 block of College Drive on May 11th at approximately 1:45 p.m.

Police say surveillance cameras show the suspects scanning items at the self-checkout, but they did not scan all of the items. They also returned to the sales floor and placed additional items in their shopping cart without paying.

Both are described as black males in their mid-30s. They were both wearing white t-shirts, and one suspect was further described as bald with a beard and wearing sunglasses, and the second suspect had a short haircut and small mustache.

One of the suspects left the scene on foot while the other left in a white Dodge pickup truck.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Line at 1-888-Lock-U-Up.

Women accused in East Coast shoplifting ring arrested at NC Target

CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Police said two women who helped swipe hundreds of thousands of dollars in items from stores along the East Coast were finally caught in the Charlotte area.

Police told WSOC-TV that a loss prevention agent at a Target store on Bayfield Parkway saw Shiann Johnson and Destiny Williams preparing to steal items from the store Sunday.

He called police, who surrounded the store.

One woman was caught inside. Officials said the other woman made a run for it and was caught at the Buffalo Wild Wings nearby.

Kannapolis police said the agent in Target was familiar with their method emptying a filing cabinet box, stuffing $6,000 of electronics into it, then paying for the just the cabinet and walking out.

Police said the pair is from Brooklyn, New York, and part of a larger theft ring that has been doing the same thing all along the East Coast stealing from Target and CVS stores.

Police said they got thank you calls from both corporate offices after the arrest and they said the group is accused of stealing $200,000 in total from various stores.

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