Convenience Store Violence, Safety & Security
C-Stores make up 3% of violent crimes in the U.S.

When Prevention Isn't Enough

The stresses of the ongoing pandemic, coupled with mounting economic uncertainty, social unrest and more have fueled a pressure cooker for grocery and convenience store customers and employees.

Eight in 10 retailers surveyed by the National Retail Federation for its 2022 Retail Security Survey reported that violence and aggression associated with organized retail crime incidents increased in the last year. In this special report, WGB and CSP editors discuss this critical topic with retailers and experts who offer insight into how to keep workers and shoppers safe in the face of this mounting threat.

Violent crime by the numbers

Convenience stores account for about 3% of U.S. violent crimes, according to statistics from the FBI. When gas stations (a separate category in FBI data) are factored in, that percentage rises to about 5%. Violent crime at grocery stores, meanwhile, is less frequent but, like the other two categories, has been increasing over the last five years for which data is available. Note: The FBI classifies gas stations as non-convenience store locations including gas stations only, truck stops or marine fueling locations.

Retailers confront violent crime

"The cost of reacting after a serious incident has occurred is 100 times more costly than taking preventative action." -Bill Flynn, founder and chief strategy officer for active shooter response firm The Power of Preparedness winsightgrocerybusiness.com

   RELATED: C-store safety and security: 3 robbery deterrence security practices


Anti-Theft Measures Continue to Make National Headlines
They can crack down on theft, but do they also hinder sales?

Shoplifting deterrents drive down sales

Driving the news

Locked cases may stop thieves, but they are also deterring honest shoppers from making in-store purchases and can cause sales to drop 15% to 25%, Joe Budano, CEO of anti-theft technology company Indyme, told Axios.

The inconvenience of locked cases - and having to find an employee to open them - end up driving customers to shop online, GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders said.

Stolen merchandise is also often sold on online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay and Facebook, Saunders said.

Between the lines

he dilemma for retailers is balancing the need to protect merchandise so it's available for honest customers versus interfering with a seamless experience, Lisa LaBruno, senior executive vice president at the Retail Industry Leaders Association, tells Axios.

The multibillion-dollar loss in products is on top of money spent on technology and staffing, LaBruno said. Budano estimates that 98% of people in stores are "legit customers" and 2% are some kind of offender.

"To protect yourself against 2% is bad math," said Budano, whose company created the "Freedom Case," a locked display consumers can open with their cell phones.

New laws target retail theft

U.S. Representatives Ken Buck (R-Colo.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Susie Lee (D-Nev.), and David Joyce (R-Ohio) recently introduced the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2023 legislation to establish a coordinated federal response to the retail theft.

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) have sponsored a companion bill that they said, "targets the rise in flash mob robberies and intricate retail theft schemes sweeping the nation." axios.com


How the 'Defund the Police' Movement Helped Drive Store Closures
Nike asks to hire or fund police in order to reopen Portland Community Store

Emails among city staff suggest Nike's plan wouldn't help because the city already has funding for more officers; the problem is the wait time to get them certified.

The Nike Community Store in Northeast Portland has been shuttered for months due to problems with retail theft, and the company now appears to be pressing the city for dedicated police support - and even offering to pay for officers - to get the store back open.

In a Feb. 9 letter to Mayor Ted Wheeler, first reported by The Oregonian, Nike chief security officer Joe Marsico and North America general manager Sarah Mensah said the company closed the Community Store "in response to deteriorating public safety conditions and rapid escalation in retail theft."

Nike's plan to pay for police

The letter proposes a partnership with the city that would take one of two forms: either Nike would contract and pay for off-duty uniformed PPB officers to be at the store, or the company would form an intergovernmental agreement with the city to fund a designated number of additional full-time officers.

The Nike officials note that the officers would have the power to arrest offenders or detain them until on-duty police arrive. Security guards contracted by Nike have previously told KGW that they're forbidden from physically stopping shoplifters - a common policy among major retailers - and increasingly brazen criminals were seen simply walking out the front door with armloads of merchandise last year.

The letter hints that the Community Store closure could become permanent without the new police support, stating "we are now at a critical juncture" and later adding "as Nike evaluates business decisions impacting retail operations, it is critical that one of these two models be made effective prior to May 1, 2023." kgw.com


Shoplifting Gangs Targeted by New Bills
Virginia bills to punish shoplifting gangs pass House and Senate
A growing headache for retailers - shoplifting gangs - would be a clearer target for prosecutors after the House of Delegates and state Senate approved bills defining their deeds as organized crime.

The bills say it would be a felony, punishable by a prison term of five to 20 years, for two or more people to act together to steal goods from one or more stores, or to conspire to do so. The trigger for the charge is thefts totaling $5,000, stolen over 90 days.

It also clears the way to prosecute thefts that occur in more than one county or city.

"We've had stores shut down because of this," said Del. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford, sponsor of House Bill 1885. "Now we can go after the people doing this."

Both the House and Senate bills, as introduced, set a trigger for the organized crime charge at $1,000, but the Senate Judiciary Committee amended its version to set the $5,000 trigger. The House on Wednesday accepted the Senate changes by a vote of 52-45. The Senate approved the compromise by a 27-13 vote.

"I had wanted the $1,000 to help with proof," said state Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, who sponsored the Senate version. Raising the trigger to $5,000 "makes it a little harder to prove a case, but I understand where Scott was coming from and I can live with that," he said.

But Del. Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax, said she still opposed the measure because it did not go after the heart of the problem - the fences. "This makes shoplifting racketeering," she said.

The bill also creates a fund that prosecutors and police can tap to pursue these cases. richmond.com


Theft Surge Across the Pond
Co-op stores in England put baby formula behind tills to deter theft

Move by retailer described as 'heartbreaking' as cost of staple products continues to rise

Co-op stores in England have resorted to putting baby formula behind the tills in some stores to stop them from being stolen. A Brighton shop took action as the cost of living crisis continues to hit people up and down the country.

The Co-operative said it had taken the measure in a number of stores to trial a new deterrent to stop theft, although it would not say in how many outlets this was happening.

In 2022, Sainsbury's put security tags on formulas to stop them being stolen. At the time, it said the decision to place security tags on lower value items could vary from store to store. It added that baby formula, essential for most infants, had suffered supply chain issues resulting in shortages in the UK and the US in the past two years, with the US particularly hard-hit. theguardian.com


As a store employee, I frequently witness shoplifting but choose not to intervene

New Orleans mass shootings account for 5% of 2023 national total

How the Pandemic Led to Fewer Shoppers in Big Cities
Remote Work During the Pandemic Shifted Daytime Population of Cities

Working From Home Caused a Spatial Shift in Daytime Population Away From Traditional Job Centers

The daytime population of traditional U.S. job centers plummeted in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and lockdowns and social distancing pushed more people to work from home.

This shift to remote work in large segments of the workforce significantly impacted commuting and consumer spending at restaurants, retail outlets and the demand for commercial real estate, according to research presented during a recent webinar hosted by the U.S. Census Bureau's Local Employment Dynamics (LED).

The research used the Census Bureau's Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) commuting data, coupled with statistics from other federal government agencies and outside organizations.

Commuting shifts also affected where people spent their money. Fewer workers meant fewer shoppers and diners for small businesses in job hubs.

The traditional 9-to-5 workday may have become a thing of the past. Surveys show workers expect workplace adaptations to stick, because flexible schedules and reduced commute times outweigh challenges of isolation and longer hours. According to research, employees value flexibility and believe a hybrid model is ideal. census.gov


Companies Pulling Back on Remote Work
What can you do when your company reverses on remote work?

If your employer announces a return to the office while you'd like to continue remotely, you may have leverage to negotiate.

A growing list of companies-including Disney, Apple, Starbucks, Google, and Goldman Sachs-are rolling back their remote work policies or tightening hybrid work options to compel workers to spend more time in the office. In the US, even Congress is trying to end covid-era teleworking options for federal workers. Online, some speculate that even remote-first companies are looking to get people into the office organically.

But despite increasing interest in getting workers through the office doors, their desire for remote work isn't disappearing. According to Pew Research, among people working from home full-time or most of the time in early 2022, 78% say they'd like to continue doing so.

Plenty are resisting return-to-office orders. As of last summer, just half of workers who had been called back to the office full-time were actually reporting in as much as required. Some are wondering if they can simply refuse the mandate. And others are leaving their no-longer-remote jobs for new ones that offer more flexibility. qz.com


Why the Covid-19 Death Toll in the U.S. Is Still Rising

Idaho bill would criminalize giving mRNA vaccines - the tech used in COVID shots

5,190 People Died on the Job in 2021
Is Time Running Out on Workplace Safety?

Safer workplaces seem to be more of a mirage than a reality.

How safe is the workplace these days? We don't really know, since given the nature of the federal government's data-crunching capabilities, it'll take another year for us to get the statistics on workplace incidents in 2022. But we do finally know how safe the workplace was at U.S.-based employers in 2021, but there's not much good news in the numbers:

• Nonfatal injuries and illnesses were down in 2021 by 1.8% over 2020.
• Fatal work injuries were up by 8.9% year-over-year.
• The impact of COVID-19 on the workplace in 2020-2021 was significant.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 5,190 people died on the job in 2021, compared to 4,764 in 2020. Also, while total workplace injuries and illnesses dropped somewhat year-over-year, the number of injuries actually increased by 6.3% (2.2 million injury cases in 2021 vs. 2.1 million in 2020). Offsetting the increase in injuries is that illnesses-in particular, respiratory illnesses-dropped by 32.9%.

Of course, the most obvious reason for all of this is COVID-19. By 2021, vaccinations, masks and social distancing had greatly reduced COVID's impact, resulting in far fewer infections and respiratory illnesses on the job. As COVID became less of a workplace issue, the old familiar hazards unfortunately came back to bedevil workers.

Truck and delivery drivers had the most fatal accidents in 2021, as fatalities increased by 16.3% over 2020. In fact, transportation incidents were the most frequent type of fatal event, according to the BLS, accounting for nearly four out of 10 (38.2%) work-related deaths, or 1,982. Construction and extraction occupations were the second-most deadly occupation in terms of numbers of fatalities. Falls, slips and trips accounted for 850 workplace deaths.

In any event, the nearly 9% increase in workplace fatalities "serves as a call to action for OSHA, employers and other stakeholders to redouble our collective efforts to make our nation's workplaces safer," said Doug Parker, the U.S. Labor Department's assistant secretary for occupational safety and health. ehstoday.com


Starbucks Continues to Fight the Union Effort
Starbucks' interim CEO Howard Schultz said he doesn't believe unions have a place at the coffee giant as unionization efforts spread

He said that unionization efforts reflect a "much bigger problem" beyond individual companies.

Starbucks' interim CEO Howard Schultz reiterated that he believes unions have no place at the company in an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow, published on Tuesday. Schultz, who stepped in as interim CEO of Starbucks in April 2022, told Harlow: "I don't think a union has a place in Starbucks."

He added: "If a de minimis group of people file for a petition to be unionized, they have a right to do so. But we as a company have a right also to say: 'We have a different vision that is better, more dynamic, and we have a history to prove it.'"

Starbucks has historically painted a picture of being a progressive company that treats workers well and offers good benefits. This has included covering full college tuition for staff, health insurance, and equity through stock options.

Schultz said that Starbucks worker unionization efforts in America are reflective of a much bigger macro problem beyond the company itself. American companies, in general, are facing unionization because "workers are upset - not so much with the company, but the situation," he told CNN. businessinsider.com


Home Depot says it will raise pay for US, Canadian workers
Home Depot said Tuesday it's investing $1B in wage increases for its U.S. and Canadian hourly workers.

'Stubborn' food inflation leaves U.S. shoppers with slim appetite for other goods

Suburban retail adapts to changing shopping habits

Ransomware Attack Causing Store Lettuce Shortage
Dole cyberattack may be the cause of prepackaged lettuce shortage
Dole Food Company's prepackaged salad shortage may be the result of a ransomware cyberattack that is affecting the company's systems throughout North America, according to an internal memo posted on Facebook by a Texas grocery store.

Stewart's, a grocery store in Olney, Texas, posted an image on the store's Facebook page of an internal memo Emanuel Lozopoulos, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Dole Fresh Vegetables, sent to grocers on Feb. 10 notifying them of the cyberattack.

The memo was posted following customer complaints that there were no prepackaged salads in stock from Dole, which produces a variety of salad blends, salad kits, and ready-to-eat salads.

"Our plants are shut down for the day and all our shipments are on hold," the internal memo read. "Please bear with us as we navigate our way and hopefully we will minimize this event."

Dole confirms ransomware attack

Ransomware is a malicious software that prevents users from accessing their computer files, systems, or networks, until they pay a ransom to regain control. It can go as far as encrypting files and folders on local drives, attached drives, and networked computers, according to the FBI.

William Goldfield, spokesperson for Dole, confirmed ransomware in a prepared statement emailed to USA TODAY.

"Upon learning of this incident, Dole moved quickly to contain the threat and engaged leading third-party cybersecurity experts, who have been working in partnership with Dole's internal teams to remediate the issue and secure systems," Goldfield said.

"While continuing to investigate the scope of the incident, the impact to Dole operations has been limited." usatoday.com


Is the DOJ's Global Ransomware Crackdown Working?
Hackers Extort Less Money, Are Laid Off as New Tactics Thwart
More Ransomware Attacks

Cybercriminals face drop in payments, as U.S. companies are better at bouncing back from attacks

Extortion payments from ransomware, a hacking scourge that has crippled hospitals, schools and public infrastructure, fell significantly last year, according to federal officials, cybersecurity analysts and blockchain firms.

After ballooning for years, the amount of money being paid to ransomware criminals dropped in 2022, as did the odds that a victim would pay the criminals who installed the ransomware. With ransomware, hackers lock up a victim's computer network, encrypting hard drives until victims pay.

Alphabet Inc.'s Mandiant cybersecurity group said it had responded to fewer ransomware intrusions in 2022-a 15% decrease from 2021. CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., another U.S. cybersecurity firm, said it saw a drop in average ransom-demand amounts, from $5.7 million in 2021 to $4.1 million in 2022, a decline the company attributed to disruption of major ransomware gangs, including arrests, and a decline in crypto values. Ransomware payments are generally made using cryptocurrency.

The blockchain-analytics firm Chainalysis Inc. says that payments that it tracked to ransomware groups dropped by 40% last year, totaling $457 million. That is $309 million less than 2021's tally.

"It reflects, I think, the pivot that we have made to a posture where we're on our front foot," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in an interview. "We're focusing on making sure we're doing everything to prevent the attacks in the first place."

The hacking groups behind ransomware attacks have been slowed by better company security practices. Federal authorities have also used new tactics to help victims avoid paying ransom demands. Asset seizures have disrupted major ransomware gangs, one of which recently had layoffs, cybersecurity officials say. wsj.com


Cybersecurity Industry Burnout is Surging
Half of cybersecurity leaders will change jobs by 2025

1 in 4 CISOs Wants to Say Sayonara to Security

Thanks to burnout and stress, Gartner predicts churn and even departure from profession among half of today's security leaders by 2025.

Enterprises can expect to see some pretty dramatic churn in their cybersecurity departments in the next two years if they're not proactive about countering security burnout. A prediction out today by Gartner estimates that almost half of cybersecurity leaders will change jobs by 2025. More startling, the analyst firm predicts that one in four leaders will exit the security stage completely.

According to Deepti Gopal, director analyst for Gartner, cybersecurity professionals are generally facing "unsustainable levels of stress." For CISOs and other security managers, the mental and emotional fallout from occupying the scapegoat role is not only spurring many them to look outside of their current jobs or their professions, it's also impacting their effectiveness when they stay.

"CISOs are on the defense, with the only possible outcomes that they don't get hacked or they do," Gopal says. "The psychological impact of this directly affects decision quality and the performance of cybersecurity leaders and their teams."

Negative Unemployment & Burnout Persist in Cybersecurity

For a long time now, the need for cybersecurity expertise has gone unfilled across the entire industry. Per last year's (ISC)2 estimates, there is a current shortfall of 3.4 million cybersecurity experts. Even as other jobs in the tech industry begin to evaporate in the face of tech sector layoffs, cybersecurity appears to be immune to this. A report earlier this month from (ISC)2 showed that only 10% of corporate executives expect to lay off members of their cybersecurity teams this year.

However, these seemingly positive numbers about job security in the cybersecurity world could actually be a red flag for what's currently ailing the profession. That is, burnout and job dissatisfaction are making it tough to recruit and retain talent. A different survey out this week from Magnet Forensics shows this phenomenon within the rank-and-file population of security analysts and investigators: More that half of these security pros reported feeling burned out in their jobs.

Often, the discussion of cybersecurity burnout revolves around topics like alert fatigue and workload imbalances, particularly among security operations center (SOC) workers. For example, the Magnet report showed that 64% of those workers cited alert fatigue as playing a role in their burnout. darkreading.com


How Covid-19 impacted cyber security challenges, focus and spends

More vulnerabilities in industrial systems raise fresh concerns about critical infrastructure hacks

Nearly $1M in Losses Reported in Today's ORC Column


Thieves steal $500K in jewelry in broad daylight NYC heist
Two thieves made off with $500,000 in jewelry after bursting into a Queens gem shop and beating an elderly employee Wednesday, cops said. The men rushed into Diamond Collect near Prince Street and 39th Avenue in Downtown Flushing around 2:30 p.m. According to police, the jewel thieves "punched, kicked and struck a 79-year-old female employee in the head with a handgun." Video of the robbery shows one of the men pushing past the woman as she flails at his feet. His masked partner - with a reusable shopping bag in one hand - whips a gun out from his waistband as the elderly store worker raises her hand over her head in self-defense. In another clip, the woman can be seen cowering on the floor as glass from a broken jewelry enclosure falls around her. The two shoplifters removed about $500,000 worth of merchandise before fleeing on foot toward Prince Street. nypost.com


Moulton, AL: Two Suspects arrested in connection to $200K Tractor Supply theft
The Moulton Police Department recently arrested two men wanted for fraud and identity theft. The men, originally from Miami, Fla., were linked to over $200,000 in lost Tractor Supply merchandise. On Sunday, Feb. 12, MPD received report of two men at the Moulton Tractor Supply who were known by loss prevention investigators. The investigators identified the men via remote store video. They believed them to be the same individuals who had previously engaged in identity theft and credit card fraud in other Tractor Supply stores. Officers Epifanio (Murphy) Dejoya and Scott Christy were dispatched to the call. They were able to detain the two men prior to any transactions occurring inside the store. After detaining the individuals, Cpt. Russell Graham was called to the store. Discussions with a Loss Prevention Investigator in Nashville helped confirm the investigator's suspicions about the men's identities. Officers searched the men and found marijuana. They were arrested for second degree possession of marijuana (marijuana for personal use). After another interview with the men, one received further charges. Patrick Daniel was charged with three counts of second degree possession of a forged instrument. Both men made bond on their charges. According to a department press release, Moulton is no longer involved in the case. The release stated, "Due to the complexity of this investigation, Cpt. Graham referred the remainder of the case to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Huntsville." moultonadvertiser.com


Birmingham, MI: Update: Man accused of stealing at lululemon in Birmingham linked to Organized Theft Ring
The arrest of one man accused of stealing from the lululemon store in downtown Birmingham has led to police recovering tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise stolen by an organized retail crime ring, officials said. After Birmingham police arrested David Malik Roberts, 27, on Feb. 12 for what's described as a "retail fraud in progress" at the Birmingham store, detectives reportedly determined he was part of a crime ring responsible for retail frauds throughout the state totaling more than $140,000.

Five days after Roberts was taken into custody, other members of the crime ring stole approximately $6,000 in merchandise from a lululemon store in Detroit and then unloaded it at a Detroit business, police said.
Police raided the business and recovered numerous stolen items -- including 17 items of clothing from the Birmingham lululemon valued at more than $41,000 - as well as illegal guns and appliances stolen from various jurisdictions, police said. The search warrant had been obtained by Birmingham detectives who executed it along with members of the Troy Special Investigations Unit, which includes officers from Troy, Royal Oak, Auburn Hills, Bloomfield Township and Birmingham police departments. Assistance was also provided by the Oakland County Narcotics Enforcement Team, South Oakland County Narcotics Intelligence Consortium and the Detroit Police Department, officials said.

Roberts is charged with first-degree retail fraud, felony identity theft, and resisting/obstructing/assaulting a police officer for the alleged Feb. 12 incident. He's scheduled for a preliminary exam on March 7 before 48th District Diane Judge D'Agostini who will decide if there's probable cause for the case to move forward. theoaklandpress.com


McPherson County, KS: Suspects in McPherson Jewelry Robbery also seen in Manhattan store theft
Three suspects seen on security cameras Tuesday in Manhattan appear to be the same suspects in a jewelry store robbery in McPherson. Just before 3:30 p.m. Monday, police responded to report of a theft at Venables Jewelry, 214 North Main Street, according to McPherson County Crimestoppers. Police released security camera images of the suspects and asked for help to identify them. On Tuesday afternoon, three women entered G. Thomas Jewelers, 419 Poyntz Avenue in Manhattan, posing as customers, according to the Riley County Police Department. They asked that the items be wrapped and during wrapping, the suspects slipped the items off the counter. They then left the store to retrieve identification for the purchases but didn't return. Four rings, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet were all stolen resulting in an approximate loss of $26,800.  hutchpost.com


Porterville, CA: 2 of 5 suspects involved in Ulta grand theft located by Police
Porterville Police officers have located two out of five suspects believed to have been involved in a robbery that took place on Feb. 12 at an Ulta in Porterville. Officials say on Feb. 14, a representative from Ulta Beauty contacted the Porterville Police Department to report a theft of over $26,000 of product that occurred on Feb. 12 in the City of Porterville. Porterville police detectives identified Veronica Medina, 48, and David Bailey, 27, as two of the five suspects involved in the theft. Officials say on Feb. 21, at approximately 4:30 p.m., detectives contacted Medina at a motel located in the 2600 block of Buck Owens Blvd. in Bakersfield, where she was arrested. It was discovered that Bailey was currently in custody at the Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility in Bakersfield on unrelated criminal charges.Medina was arrested and booked at the Tulare County South County Detention Facility, where she is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. The report was submitted to the Tulare County District Attorney's Office for review and consideration of criminal charges for David Bailey. yourcentralvalley.com


Columbus, OH: $20,000 stolen from Columbus Kohl's
Columbus police are searching for multiple suspects connected to a string of thefts at Kohl's locations in central Ohio. The accused are believed to have stolen more than $20,000 worth of merchandise in at least five felony thefts, Central Ohio Crime Stoppers reported. The thefts have taken place over the last two months, and all of the suspects have been seen on surveillance video.  nbc4i.com


Wood County, OH: Women arrested for possessing $8,000 of stolen watches and clothing
Two women who are reportedly in the country illegally were arrested after law enforcement found more than $8,000 in stolen merchandise in their possession. A Wood County grand jury on Feb. 15 indicted Claudia Melina Bonilla-Ramirez, 33, and Sonia Marcella Vargas-Alvarez, 26, both of New York City, for receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony. A deputy with the Wood County Sheriff's Office had been assigned to a Northwest Ohio Investigative Task Force and working with other task force members from the Lucas County Sheriff's Office, Homeland Security Investigations and Toledo Police Department. The deputy, through surveillance, noted that the driver of a white Mercedes with New York plates had met up with the occupants of a 2006 Honda Odyssey bearing a Pennsylvania temporary tag at Woodville Surplus in Oregon and they appeared to meet again at Sonseehrey in Perrysburg.

The Odyssey allegedly stopped in the 24000 block of Bean Street in Stony Ridge, and an officer reportedly observed Vargas-Alvarez exit the Honda carrying an object and walk out of view. She returned to the vehicle empty handed. A sheriff's deputy arrived, activated his overhead lights and initiated a traffic stop. Upon his approach, he reportedly observed Vargas-Alvarez holding a black bag that she quickly put in the back of the vehicle. Bonilla-Ramirez was driving the vehicle and Vargas-Alvarez was the passenger.

Vargas-Alvarez's actions gave officers probable cause to search the vehicle. During the search, officers reportedly found 22 Garmin smart watches in the black bag, all with tags identifying that they came from Golf World. The retail value of the watches was $5,349. They had been reported stolen to the Boardman Police Department. A black duffle bag stuffed behind the rear seat reportedly had 26 pairs of Ariat jeans and work pants inside, all with price stickers from Woodville Surplus. Total retail value of the jeans was $3,038. An immigration status on the women, neither of whom spoke good English, reportedly showed they were in the country illegally.  sent-trib.com


Suffolk County, NY: Merchandise stolen from Hobby Lobby in Commack

Summerlin, NV: 2 arrested on suspicion of falsely returning items at Summerlin Lowe's store

Bainbridge, OH: Man lands in hot water for stealing two Home Depot tanks

Hoboken, NJ: Man caught stealing 51 packages of bacon from Hoboken ShopRite also busted with crack

Newfoundland, Canada: RCMP investigating after $12,000 of iPhones, PlayStation 5s stolen during break-in at Marystown store