Shoplifter hides 18 liquor bottles in her pants, bra, and purse [Viral Video]
A woman accused of stealing 18 bottles of alcohol from a Shreveport, Louisiana, liquor store turned herself in Thursday after a telling security video went viral. Police released surveillance video taken August 18, showing a shoplifter brazenly stealing bottles of liquor and wine by shoving them into her purse and clothes. The security camera footage from the Thrifty Liquor Store in Shreveport went viral shortly after being posted to YouTube by the Shreveport-Caddo Crime Stoppers. After stuffing up to 18 bottles into her purse, bra and pants the woman can be seen paying for a single bottle of alcohol before leaving the store.
Local law enforcement officers familiar with the suspect saw the video and were able to identify the woman as 37-year-old Sekonie Jones of Shreveport. In a Facebook post the day after the video went viral, Jones appeared to admit to the crime. She wrote, “…yes I’m aware I’m on the news not for MURDER so please stop calling me please stop in boxing me I hustle that’s what I do… I’m going to turn myself in and bond out like I have before…” Jones was contacted by police and surrendered at Shreveport City Jail, the Shreveport Times reported. She has been charged with one count of misdemeanor theft. [Source: The Daily Courier]
Two Fort Myers men arrested in credit card skimmer bust
Two men were arrested Friday in connection with a credit card skimmer bust, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said. Fort Myers, Florida, residents Marcos Antonio Gomez Cardenas, 27, and Idelberto Hechavarria Lavign, 30, are facing charges of credit card fraud, larceny, using forged credit cards, and identity theft related crimes, deputies said. Cardenas and Lavign are accused of manufacturing and installing credit card skimmer devices into multiple gas station pumps and using the victim’s personal information to make cloned credit cards, deputies said. A search warrant led to the seizure of a 2005 Nissan Titan pickup truck, a 2004 Ford F150 pickup truck, $7,860 in cash, 33 cloned credit cards, blank credit cards, gas pump lock keys, credit card readers, credit card encoder devices, multiple computers and tools used to manufacture the cloned cards, deputies said. [Source: WINK News]
Employee defends herself from shoplifting suspect with box cutters
Police are investigating a stabbing of a shoplifting suspect Saturday night inside a northwest Las Vegas valley business.The call came in just before 8:45 p.m. for the 99 Cents Only store, according to Lieutenant Peter Kisfalvi of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. The suspect, according to police, attacked a female employee, who defended herself by using box cutters. The suspect was taken to UMC Trauma with what were described as non-life-threatening injuries. Investigators are viewing store surveillance video. No identities have been released and no arrests have been made. [Source: News3LV]
Shoplifting suspect arrested after 3-state, 100-mile chase
A Sioux Falls man is facing charges after authorities say he shoplifted from a South Sioux City, Nebraska, business then led officers on a pursuit into South Dakota. According to the Dakota County, Neb. Sheriff’s Office, 34-year-old Daniel Fawcett shoplifted at a Walmart in South Sioux City, then fled the scene in a vehicle. Deputies soon located his vehicle and began a pursuit. Law enforcement officers attempted to deploy spikes several times as Fawcett took various back roads through the area, but the suspect was able to evade them. Troopers say Fawcett’s vehicle made contact with law enforcement vehicles several times during this part of the pursuit.
Fawcett eventually drove into Iowa, turned north on Interstate 29, then drove into South Dakota. Authorities say his vehicle lost a tire about about five miles across the South Dakota border. Fawcett continued north, and was able to drive another 20 miles before officers successfully deployed more spike strips. The vehicle managed drive a few more miles before finally coming to a stop in the median near mile marker 41, about five miles south of Beresford. Fawcett was arrested on several charges, including felony operating a vehicle to avoid arrest, felony criminal attempt of assault on a law enforcement by motor vehicle, and resisting arrest. Troopers say the pursuit lasted for more than an hour and covered more than one hundred miles. [Source: KSFY News]
Shoplifting suspect assaults employee, flees store, police chief says
Lacey police recently charged a Forked River, New Jersey, man with robbery and using force during a theft after he shoplifted merchandise at Lacey Marine, stuffed the items in his shorts and assaulted an employee before he fled the scene, Police Chief Michael C. DiBella said. Officers Darrell Nick and Brian Holt responded to Lacey Marine in Forked River. The store employee saw Frank O. Pulido, Jr., 34, Wynnewood Road, put $139.98 of store items in his shorts. When the employee confronted Pulido, Pulido assaulted him. Pulido then fled the scene in a pickup truck, DiBella said. Ricciardella located the pickup truck on Davenport’s Landing in Forked River a short time later and stopped Pulido. He was taken to police headquarters, where he was also charged with driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, failure to stop, failure to signal and failure to change the address on his driver’s license, the chief said. Pulido was taken to the Ocean County Jail in Toms River to await a bail hearing. [Source: Berkeley Patch]
Lowe’s to increase workers’ hours to keep Q2 momentum
In its second-quarter financial results released Wednesday, Lowe’s announced that it will increase “customer-facing hours” to continue its upward trend in comparable store sales, according to the company. The big-box home improvement retailer reported overall sales increases of 6.8 percent over the second quarter of 2016. Comparable sales for the retailer increased 4.6 percent over last year. Lowe’s CEO, chairman and president Robert A. Niblock says that despite the increases, the results were not what the company had projected for the first six months of the fiscal year. The company has retained its previous annual guidance, which projects 5 percent sales growth overall and 3.5 percent comparable sales growth. “While our results were below our expectations in the first half of this year, the team remains focused on making the necessary investments to improve the customer experience and drive sales,” Niblock says. “This includes amplifying our consumer messaging and incremental customer-facing hours in our stores, which will put pressure on our operating margin. We believe this is the right strategy to more fully capitalize on strong traffic trends in what we believe is a supportive macroeconomic backdrop for home improvement.” [Source: Hardware Retailing]
MO man arrested, after alleged shoplifting and chase
A man has been arrested in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, after an alleged shoplifting lead to a police chase. On Monday, August 21, a Cape Girardeau police officer responded to Menard’s for a report of shoplifting. Menard’s loss prevention reported an individual in the store had stolen merchandise from the location in Poplar Bluff and the Cape Girardeau store was advised to be on the lookout for him. According to police, the male subject attempted to hide in the store and was seen by an officer leaving the store. Police said he jumped in his vehicle and drove off. A vehicle pursuit began and the male ultimately lost control of his vehicle in Chaffee, Missouri, and started running on foot. The male was located and taken into custody by the Chaffee Police Department at 10 p.m. that night. The Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed charges on Barry Lee McClanahan, 50, of Hollister, Missouri, for resisting arrest (class E felony) and stealing (class A misdemeanor). McClanahan’s bond has been set at $25,000. Other charges are possible from other law enforcement agencies as it relates to the pursuit. [Source: KFVS12 News]
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