Nine accused in organized $102K theft from Safeway
A group of 9 people is accused of stealing more than $102,000 from Safeway-Albertson stores, according to police. The 5-week investigation into the suspect organized retail crime (ORC) began in October 2016. ORC typically involves more than one individual, said Scott Chapman, the Director of Asset Protection for Albertson-Safeway. He said the groups usually steal merchandise and sell it on the black market. “They’re in business to make money, whether it be for drugs (or) whether it be for re-selling,” Chapman said. ORC can result in higher prices for consumers and less taxes for state and local governments, he said. The thieves will steal in bulk quantity.
Some will use what’s known in the industry as a “booster bag,” which is typically a large handbag lined with tinfoil. Other thieves will load up a shopping cart and simply leave without paying. Those are called “push outs.” Chapman said ORC investigators are seeing thieves steal high-value items that are popular across a wide demographic of individuals such as laundry detergent, teeth whiting strips, allergy medicine and nutritional supplements.“It’s a quick turn for them,” Chatman said. “They can sell it quickly.”
The investigation resulted in the identification of 9 suspects, including suspected ringleader Jenna Hollingshead. According to ORC investigators, Hollingshead was “specifically targeting” stores in Southeast Portland and Gresham. She was selling laundry detergent pods online for prices “far below their market value,” according to Safeway. Undercover investigators were assigned to the case. ORC undercover investigators eventually identified John Logan Irish, Stephanie H. Mitchell, Andrew J. Christie, Kristin Renee Eichler, Michael William Lewis, Richard Santos, Tyler Scott Tomlinson, and Kristan Lee Partin as associates to the operation Hollingshead was running. Safeway investigators say they developed probable cause to have each arrested; however, not all have been indicted by a grand jury. [For more: KOIN6 News]
Family of security guard fatally stabbed by shoplifting suspect grieve
Family members of a loss prevention associate at a Burlington store who was fatally stabbed Saturday say they are left wondering how a minor shoplifting incident escalated into a lethal assault. Larry Donnell Drumgole, who was working as an LP associate, was fatally stabbed while confronting a shoplifting suspect at the retailer’s Potomac Mills mall location in the Woodbridge, Va., area on Saturday afternoon, the county police said.
“It’s so sad he was taken away just like that, over something that couldn’t have been worth it,” Nora Clinton, Drumgole’s mother, said Monday.
According to Prince William County police, Drumgole was stabbed after he and another associate confronted a man who had been observed shoplifting inside the store. The associates approached the man who was walking toward the parking lot, where a tussle broke out, the police said.
Drumgole, 44, of Rappahannock Academy, died of his injuries at a hospital shortly after, according to police. The other LP Associate was unharmed. [For more: The Washington Post]
Liquor store owner beat to death with wine bottle
The 46-year old owner of a Rochester, N.Y. liquor and wine store, and mother of three, was beaten to death during a brutal robbery late last week. Around 5 p.m. Thursday, police say a 59-year old man entered the shop and used a wine bottle to bludgeon the woman, Charlotte Lahr, to death. When responders arrived, they noticed “severe trauma to her head and upper body”. The suspect, Kevin Quander, was actually out on parole when the crime occurred, having served nine years stemming from a 2007 first-degree burglary conviction.
The vicious attack was captured on security cameras and Quander’s fingerprints were found at the scene. The man had a total of three prior felonies, before being arrested Friday on charges of first-degree murder and robbery. Lahr’s store was previously robbed when someone drove a car into the storefront. This led Lahr to install security cameras in her shop, which was used to help identify the suspect in her death. Quander is currently being held without bail and entered in a not guilty plea. [For more: TWC News]
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1.37 Billion user identities leaked, taking down one of the biggest spam empires
Believed to be the largest data leak ever, a database of roughly 1.4 billion IP addresses, email addresses, and even physical addresses were leaked Monday. A security researcher, Chris Vicker, shared the recent story on Monday, calling it possibly the largest data leak in history. Vicker had accidentally discovered some suspicious looking files and was shocked when he found out what he had come across. Amazingly the information was not even password protected.
The source of the data leak is River City Media (RCM), who are notorious for being highly effective spammers. While the group does offer some actual services, it is not quite the innocent marketing group it represents itself to be. In fact, RCM is estimated to send over a billion spam emails per day. The group is believed to collect this data through malware, offering “free gifts” or education opportunities, and by a process known Co-registration. This occurs when users are prompted with and accept or click the “I agree to terms of services” boxes. By agreeing to the terms, permission is granted to share your personal information to affiliate companies, a fact unbeknownst to most people. Vicker also stated that law enforcement has been notified and sent details of RCM’s abusive tactics and scripts, which were utilized to collect the information. [For more: WCCF Tech]
House passes bill creating “organized retail crime”
The House of Delegates passed a bill Tuesday that would create the criminal offense of organized retail crime in West Virginia. Delegate Rodney Miller (D-Boone), a former county sheriff, said the provisions of the bill (HB 2367) would provide another tool for police officers and prosecutors to go after those who encourage the drug epidemic by hiring drug addicts to participate in retail theft. “They are sending boosters out into our communities to steal property, bring back to them, so they can have their profit level and in return the consumer in the state of West Virginia is eating the cost of that,” Miller said. The bill defines organized retail crime as “the commission of two or more retail crimes, either alone or with any person or persons, as part of an organized scheme within a ninety-day period, and the aggregate value of the retail price of the merchandise involved in the retail crimes exceeds $1,500.”
Opponents of the bill, including Delegate Pat McGeehan (R-Marshall), argued the state already has crimes to cover the illegal activity like theft and shoplifting. “We need to stop just passing law after law to add to the books. If prosecutors really want to go after criminals use the laws currently on the books,” McGeehan said. But Miller argued the bill eliminates a series of small crimes and takes them to the next level to get to those who are ordering the criminal activity. “This takes it higher up the food chain. It gets us to a point where we can take some of these folks out and take their assets away from them,” Miller said. “They don’t care about the people they are using and abusing and causing them to go out and steal in their communities. They don’t care about their next fix. They don’t care about the treatment. They don’t care.”
The bill lays out levels of organized retail crime from misdemeanor to felony with various fines and jail time. The maximum jail time listed is 3 to 15 years. The bill passed the House 93-4 and was sent to the Senate. [For more: Metro News]
Open letter to IL Governor: Raising prosecution threshold for shoplifting harms retailers
The letter was written by Amy Looten, executive director of the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce, Illinois:
While business owners in the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce recognize and appreciate the fact that Gov. Bruce Rauner is attempting to cut state expenses by reducing the number of inmates in Illinois prisons, we are concerned about the recent proposal to increase the threshold to $2,000 (from $300) to prosecute retail theft as a felony. The increase sends a message that not only can thieves steal more, but their penalties will be much less.
We agree that non-violent offenders, particularly first-timers, should not necessarily be sitting in jail, but the answer is not to declare open season on retailers. Studies repeatedly point to the fact that shoplifters steal many times before they are caught. According to the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, in 2015 the national loss reported from retail theft was estimated at $60 billion, and Illinois’ share was over $2 billion.
Not only does this impact the state and local governments’ income from sales tax, it increases the cost of goods to all. Store owners, especially those working with a low profit margin, cannot absorb this loss, so they typically pass it on in the form of higher prices. We all pay for retail theft.
With a $2,000 threshold, a shoplifter could steal an Apple MacBook Pro laptop, 1-carat diamond stud earrings or 58 pairs of denim pants (at $34 a pair) and be charged with a misdemeanor, which comes with probation and a fine of $1,500 to $2,500. The fine could be less than the value of the stolen item. This proposal by the Illinois State Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform diminishes the seriousness of retail theft and erodes our sales tax base. On behalf of the members of the Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce, we urge Rauner, Sen. Jil Tracy and Rep. Randy Frese to reject this recommendation and reinforce the fact that retail theft is serious business. If total rejection is not possible, we at least expect a more reasonable dollar amount. [For more: Herald-Whig]
LP Worldwide: ATM tricksters used hidden cameras to skim card details
Two men accused of having stolen thousands by placing skimming equipment on ATM machines across Malta were this afternoon arraigned in court. Emil-Alexandru Hrinca, 30, and Silviu Mirica, 34, having no fixed address in Malta, stand charged with having formed part of a criminal organization. The two are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, forgery and of having made an unlawful gain exceeding €5,000 to the detriment of HSBC Bank Malta, APS Bank and Bank of Valletta. Inspector Matthew Vella charged Mr Mirica from the Economic Crimes Unit with having masterminded the alleged criminal activity. Mr Mirica allegedly installed hidden cameras on bank ATM machines in various localities around Malta and used them to obtain card details when customers withdrew funds.
The court, presided by magistrate Marse-Anne Farrugia, heard how this information was then used to produce counterfeit cards that were used by the men to withdraw cash. Nine such cards were found on the person of the accused at the moment of arrest. Mr Mirica was arrested last Saturday after being caught red-handed while withdrawing money from an ATM in Gzira. The court was informed that €270 in cash were found upon him at the time of his arrest. A wallet containing personal documents, a train ticket, an empty SIM card cover, a SIM card and two fiscal receipts were handed over to the court.
When asked by the court to state his plea, Mr Mirica at first insisted on pleading guilty in spite of his lawyer’s advice to the contrary. Later, he appeared to have a change of heart and indicated his intention to plead not guilty. Mr Hrinca, the second accused, was found in possession of a batch of 50 counterfeit bank cards at the time of his arrest. [For more: Times of Malta]
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