Alleged shoplifter, clerk fight with golf clubs, machete at convenience store
An alleged shoplifter and a store clerk got into a physical altercation that involved two golf clubs and a machete at a 7-Eleven in South Sacramento, California. According to the Sacramento Police Department, the suspect entered the store on Friday and took an item without paying. The clerk then confronted the suspect, who police say returned to his car to grab a “dull machete” and a golf club intending to attack the clerk. The clerk had a golf club of his own, and the two traded blows. The fight then “went back into the store,” where the clerk retrieved a wooden board. This prompted the suspect to get into his car and attempt to flee, but not before the clerk smashed one of his windows with his club. [Source: SF Gate]
5 people arrested in shoplifting sting
Five Oxnard, California, residents were arrested during a sting operation targeting shoplifters at a drugstore, authorities said. Oxnard police said the Rite Aid in Ventura has been a hot spot in recent years for theft and other calls for police services. The store is among several retailers the Oxnard Police Department is teaming up with to reduce crime, authorities said. Friday’s operation at the store involved a team of plainclothes officers who worked with employees from 2-8 p.m. to catch thieves. The employees would signal the officers when they saw a theft occurring and the officers would detain people who left the store without paying, police said. Five people were arrested on suspicion of theft, including an Oxnard woman who was with her infant, authorities said. She allegedly encouraged a 16-year-old girl to steal and was later arrested on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and conspiracy to commit a theft, authorities said. [Source: Ventura County Star]
Woman sues retailer, says man took photos up her skirt
A Williamson County, Tennessee woman is suing the Nordstrom Rack store in Brentwood, Tennessee, alleging that one of its employees was negligent in handling a man who police say took photos up the woman’s skirt while shopping. The woman, named as Jane Doe in the lawsuit filed in Williamson County Circuit Court, was shopping in the store’s juniors section on Aug. 6, 2016, when she noticed a man who appeared to be closely following her, the lawsuit says. Police say that man was Brentwood resident Houman Shirinsouei, who owns Adonis Auto Sales in Nashville. Shirinsouei and Nordstrom Inc. are also defendants in the lawsuit. After moving farther away from Shirinsouei, Jane Doe, who was 19 at the time, says she was approached by a Nordstrom loss prevention associate who flashed a badge at her. The employee, who’s not named in the lawsuit, was a loss prevention associate who informed the plaintiff that Shirinsouei “had been previously reported as having taken inappropriate pictures of women who were shopping at Nordstrom’s store and conducted himself in a ‘creepy’ manner,” the lawsuit says.
The associate then told Jane Doe he would be “right back” and entered into one of the store offices. After she waited for the employee for 10 to 15 minutes, Shirinsouei squatted down near Jane Doe and took unauthorized photos up her dress, the lawsuit says. With no sign of the LP associate, Jane Doe followed Shirinsouei to the parking lot and took photos of his license plate for police to identify him. Police later arrived at the store, where an officer went to the back office to discuss the incident with Jane Doe and the loss prevention employee, the lawsuit says. The employee then played video surveillance of Jane Doe, which showed Shirinsouei taking photos up her skirt, the lawsuit said. It noted that this was the second instance of Shirinsouei taking photos up Jane Doe’s skirt, but doesn’t describe when the first instance occurred. “It was thus clear that Nordstrom’s loss prevention employee had been watching the surveillance footage live and paused the video at the moment of the second incident,” the lawsuit says. “Essentially Nordstrom was using the plaintiff as bait as its loss prevention associate ‘played cop,’ exposing the plaintiff to much greater harm.” Jane Doe is seeking $1.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages from Nordstrom Inc., $1.5 million from the Nordstrom Rack in Brentwood and $4 million from Shirinsouei. Shirinsouei filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 10, a month after the lawsuit was filed. [Source: Tennessean]
LP Worldwide: Supermarket forced to apologize to furious couple stopped and searched by staff
Aldi has been forced to apologies to an Exeter, United Kingdom, couple after searching them on suspicion of shoplifting in broad daylight in the car park of the supermarket. Susan Osborne, 65, says her and taxi-driver husband Kevin were stopped and searched in an “embarrassing” and “unprofessional” manner and made to feel like “common criminals” next to Kevin’s car. His car is branded with his own taxi company, Hart Taxi’s, its phone number and even its address. The incident happened on Thursday, at the Pinhoe branch and has left the pair furious with the budget supermarket giant. Mrs Osborne said: “We were made to feel like criminals and I can’t believe the search of a bag with shopping from elsewhere wasn’t done at in a private office. When I worked at Sainsbury’s that was the normal thing to do if you thought someone had shoplifted. Instead a staff member and supervisor routed through our pull along trial in the middle of the car park. They said it was because they had a ‘stop and search’ policy and never said sorry. We were treated like common thieves.” According to Susan they have already had a phone call accusing Mr Osborne of “shoplifting as a side line.” Aldi say they have now apologized to Mr. and Mrs. Osborne, who have been shopping at the branch since it first opened off Exhibition Way. An Aldi spokesperson said: “We have apologised to Ms. Osborne for her experience in our Pinhoe store. “This matter should have been handled differently and we have spoken with our employees involved to remind them of the correct procedure.” [Source: DevonLive]
Men dressed as women steal lingerie from lingerie store
Four people carried out a major lingerie heist at the South Hill Mall in Puyallup, Washington on Thursday. The suspects were initially identified as four women, but police believe that at least two of the suspects were men dressed up as women. According to police, the four suspects entered the Victoria’s Secret at the South Hill Mall just before 1 p.m. Thursday. Two distracted an employee while the other two stuffed Macy’s bags with approximately $1,000 in merchandise. The four made it out of the store undetected, but a loss prevention associate from Macy’s had his eye out for the suspects because he had seen them grab the Macy’s bags from his store earlier in the day. The loss prevention associate confronted the four suspects outside the mall, but they ran away from him. One of the suspects dropped a bag full of about $384 in lingerie. The rest of the lingerie is still out there, police said.. [Source: Puyallup Patch]
Illinois man sentenced to prison for theft conviction
Selling fishing reels he stole from a Coles County store in Illinois led to a prison sentence for the man who took them. Blake A. Hampton, 21, pleaded guilty to a theft charge that accused him of stealing merchandise from the Charleston Walmart on May 25. The value of the stolen items meant the charge would be have been a misdemeanor with a first offense. However, Hampton was charged with a felony because of his criminal record, which included an earlier burglary conviction. With the agreement reached in his case, he was sentenced to maximum prison sentence possible, three years; prison time wasn’t required.
Records in the case say a Walmart employee identified Hampton as the man who took about $200 in fishing reels from the store without paying for them. When questioned by police, Hampton admitted taking the reels and selling some of them, and that he also committed other thefts at both the Charleston and Mattoon Walmart stores. Also with the agreement, a petition to revoke the probation sentence Hampton received for the burglary conviction was withdrawn. He’ll have a record of unsuccessfully completing the probation term, however. Coles County Circuit Judge Brien O’Brien sentenced Hampton by accepting the terms of a plea agreement that Assistant State’s Attorney Rob Scales and Public Defender Anthony Ortega recommended. [Source: Journal Gazette]
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