Retailers Turning to Dogs to Tackle Brazen Theft?
Desperate NYC merchants turn to K-9 units to sniff out shoplifters

In New York City, one non-profit retail trade group has started using dogs to combat the problem.

Shoplifting has become so rampant that one of the Big Apple's busiest commercial districts is turning to "man's best friend" to sniff out thieves, The Post has learned.

The 34th Street Partnership - the trade group serving the neighborhood that includes Macy's Herald Square, Penn Station and Madison Square Garden - is trying to take a bite out of crime by contracting with a firm that provides K-9 units.

The dogged pursuit was launched this month at the CVS at Eighth Avenue and West 34th Street in the heart of the district that has been plagued with thefts.

The program - which the trade group says costs in the "low-five figures monthly" - was a necessary investment amid a flood of shoplifting complaints and lax enforcement tied to the state's soft-of-crime laws, according to Ward.

"We decided to have a very visible deterrent," said Ward, a retired police officer who was chief of staff to former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton.

As part of the initiative with Stapleton Security Services - a firm led by a retired veteran of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit - three K-9 units accompanied by handlers are posted in the vestibule of the store, and outside, working in shifts.

The partnership says the program still has teeth - noting there's been success in thwarting sticky-fingered shoppers simply by having the dogs and guards stationed in the vestibule and outside the CVS. Initial reports over five days from Feb. 15-19 show that the K-9 unit prevented at least 25 thefts and deterred others, according to the trade group.

Reports of shoplifting have skyrocketed by nearly 60% in the Midtown South Precinct that encompasses the 34th Street business district - with an increase of 1,000 complaints last year from 2021, according to the most recent available NYPD data.  nypost.com


Over Half of Retailers Boosting LP Budgets Amid Crime Surge
As stores fight $100B in theft, some measures drive away shoppers

Organized retail crime is costing stores roughly $100 billion a year - but some measures to clamp down on the theft could be turning away shoppers.

Stores are having to invest more money in safety and security measures to protect employees, customers and merchandise. Over half of retailers say they boosted budgets for loss prevention capital and equipment. Retailers have also shouldered the cost of hiring additional security personnel to guard stores.

Technological tools to combat theft and fraud include artificial intelligence-driven video analytics at the point of sale, locked merchandise cases, shopping cart sensors and more. The variety of products now under lock and key has grown, too.

Locking up goods can backfire for the retailer. Encased merchandise, meant to deter thieves, can drive away shoppers who tire of waiting for a staffer to unlock items for them to buy. The inconvenience of summoning a clerk to unlock deodorant or razors has caused some customers to turn to online retailers for these kinds of everyday essentials, to save time shopping.

Fortunately, most customers are honest and pay for the goods they take home with them. Only about 2% of visitors to stores act in bad faith, she said.

A new law aims to crack down on organized criminal rings who steal goods for resale. The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act, or the INFORM Consumers Act, goes into effect in June, and will require marketplaces to verify third-party sellers transacting a high volume of merchandise. cbsnews.com


Nike's Nationwide Theft Crisis in the News
Nike is battling theft in stores, warehouses, and even trains

Nike's outlet store in Portland, Oregon, remains closed because of ongoing theft.

Stores, warehouses, even trains. Pick a spot in the supply chain and Nike's probably had to deal with recent organized theft. The sportswear giant is among retailers nationwide dealing with an estimated $95 billion of annual retail theft, and it appears to be ratcheting up efforts with local governments to address the problem.

And while sneaker resell platforms have worked not to allow stolen products on their websites, the recent theft comes at a time when there's a defined, and easily accessible, secondary market for Nikes and other luxury goods.

The sportswear giant last fall closed a celebrated outlet store in its hometown of Portland because of ongoing theft.

Last week, boxes of Nike merchandise got stolen from a warehouse in Memphis, according to the local Fox affiliate. Memphis is a Nike logistics hub. Also in Memphis: Police arrested two suspects who they say stole about $60,000 of Nike merchandise from five rail cars, according to Sourcing Journal.

In Baton Rouge, thieves stole "several thousand dollars" of merchandise recently, a local news site reported.

On Tuesday, police in Napa arrested a man for attempting to steal from a local Nike store after police were made aware of a retail theft crew targeting Nike stores, according to local news reports.

Nike has 344 US stores, including outlet and Converse stores, according to its last annual report.

In Portland, the company is working more closely with city officials to address theft problems at its now-closed outlet store and full-price downtown location, which has remained open. The company hopes to reopen the outlet store.

The company wants the city to let Nike hire off-duty police officers who can arrest shoplifters at its Portland stores or it wants to work out a deal where Nike pays the city to hire more police officers. businessinsider.com


Safety is a Top Retail Priority as Store Shootings Become More Common
Tops markets shares security improvements following mass shooting
Ten people died and three were injured in a mass shooting May 14, 2022, at Tops Market in Buffalo, N.Y. When the store reopened July 15, in addition to store renovations, Tops made safety a priority, and measures implemented include:

• Increased professional security coverage inside and outside

• Collaboration with the City of Buffalo for installation of a Buffalo Safe Cam Surveillance Camera to oversee adjacent intersections

• Enhanced video and alarm monitoring systems

• Installation of an emergency evacuation alarm system designed to activate security measures and simultaneously notify local authorities

• Additional emergency exit above and beyond building code

• New and additional LED lighting in the parking lot and around the building's perimeter

• Improved egress points and markings in the store

• Improved sight lines and openness of the sales floor winsightgrocerybusiness.com


More and More Mass Killings Linked to Extremism
'We live in an age of extremist mass killings'

US mass killings linked to extremism spiked over last decade
The number of U.S. mass killings linked to extremism over the past decade was at least three times higher than the total from any other 10-year period since the 1970s, according to a report by the Anti-Defamation League.

The report, provided to The Associated Press ahead of its public release Thursday, also found that all extremist killings identified in 2022 were linked to right-wing extremism, with an especially high number linked to white supremacy. They include a racist mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, that left 10 Black shoppers dead and a mass shooting that killed five people at an LGBT nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that we live in an age of extremist mass killings," the report from the group's Center on Extremism says.

Between two and seven domestic extremism-related mass killings occurred every decade from the 1970s to the 2000s, but in the 2010s that number skyrocketed to 21, the report found. The trend has since continued with five domestic extremist mass killings in 2021 and 2022, as many as there were during the first decade of the new millennium.

The number of victims has risen as well. Between 2010 and 2020, 164 people died in ideological extremist-related mass killings, according to the report. That's much more than in any other decade except the 1990s, when the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people.

Extremist killings are those carried out by people with ties to extreme movements and ideologies. apnews.com


States Taking Action to Reduce Mass Shootings
States look to remove legal protections for gun industry amid mass shootings
Lawmakers in Colorado and at least six other states are considering changing that, proposing bills to roll back legal protections for gun manufacturers and dealers that have kept the industry at arm's length from questions of blame.

California, New York, Delaware and New Jersey have passed similar legislation in the last three years.

A draft version of Colorado's bill, expected to be introduced Thursday, not only repeals the state's 2000 law - which broadly keeps firearm companies from being held liable for violence perpetrated with their products - but also outlines a code of conduct that, in part, targets how companies design and market firearms.

Colorado is joined by Hawaii, New Hampshire, Virginia, Washington, New Mexico and Maryland, which are considering similar bills.

While the firearm industry is still largely shielded from liability under federal law, the bill in Colorado would make it easier for victims of gun violence to file civil suits, such as the one lodged against Remington in 2015 - the company that made the rifle used in the the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut. pbs.org


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Did Mask Mandates Make a Difference? New Analysis Says 'No'
Opinion: The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?
The most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of scientific studies conducted on the efficacy of masks for reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses - including Covid-19 - was published late last month. Its conclusions, said Tom Jefferson, the Oxford epidemiologist who is its lead author, were unambiguous.

"There is just no evidence that they" - masks - "make any difference," he told the journalist Maryanne Demasi. "Full stop."

But, wait, hold on. What about N-95 masks, as opposed to lower-quality surgical or cloth masks? "Makes no difference - none of it," said Jefferson. What about the studies that initially persuaded policymakers to impose mask mandates? "They were convinced by nonrandomized studies, flawed observational studies."

What about the utility of masks in conjunction with other preventive measures, such as hand hygiene, physical distancing or air filtration? "There's no evidence that many of these things make any difference."

These observations don't come from just anywhere. Jefferson and 11 colleagues conducted the study for Cochrane, a British nonprofit that is widely considered the gold standard for its reviews of health care data.

When it comes to the population-level benefits of masking, the verdict is in: Mask mandates were a bust. Those skeptics who were furiously mocked as cranks and occasionally censored as "misinformers" for opposing mandates were right. The mainstream experts and pundits who supported mandates were wrong. nytimes.com


Vaccine Mandates Weren't Effective Either, Another Study Says
George Mason study finds 'no evidence' that vaccine mandates in major cities reduced COVID-19 cases
A new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University concluded that COVID-19 vaccine mandates in nine major cities did not appear to make a difference in terms of curbing cases deaths from the pandemic.

The study examined mandates and statistics from Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, D.C.

"We find no evidence that the announcement or implementation of indoor vaccine mandate in the cities listed had any significant effect on vaccine uptake, COVID-19 cases, or COVID-19 deaths, and this is largely consistent for all US cities that implemented the mandate," said a working paper on the study, titled, "Indoor Vaccine Mandates in US Cities, Vaccination Behavior, and COVID-19 Outcomes."

The authors, Vitor Melo, Elijah Neilson, and Dorothy Kemboi, noted that vaccine mandates were among a number of measures used with the intention of reducing the spread of COVID-19 and deaths from the illness. As a result, they said, "[m]illions of people were prevented from entering restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters, sports arenas, and other public indoor areas without proof of COVID-19 vaccination," with people and businesses facing "large disruptions."

A key reason for why city-wide mandates were not effective, the study found, is that they are too easy to get around. foxnews.com


The Post-COVID Remote Work Market Has Stabilized
Work From Home: Will 25-30% Be New Normal?
First up this week: 30% of all working days in the U.S. are still at home. That's down from its peak of 60% in mid-2020, but still way up from the pre-pandemic position of 5%. According to the academics at WFH Research and SWAA, the curve is flattening, approaching what looks like an equilibrium.

Analysis: Be careful what you wish for

Naturally, the proportion of dev work done remotely will be higher. But some of this is the home-working component of a hybrid arrangement-often put in place for no good reason. And the danger is that remote work is usually offshorable work.

"Logical conclusion: ... No office at all"

Nearly 30 percent of all work happened at home in January, six times the rate in 2019. ... In Washington and other large urban centers, the share of remote work is closer to half. In the nation's biggest cities, entire office buildings sit empty.

Last spring, the back-to-the-office movement hit a wall, and the work-from-home population stabilized around 30 percent ... Workers love it. Employers have learned to live with it.

Why so surprised? Tony Isaac isn't:

There are a whole lot of jobs that, 30 years ago, could not be done from home, but now can be. It doesn't seem so odd to me that many types of work don't produce a physical thing. Technology has been making this transition possible for many decades now. devops.com


US ending extra help for groceries that started during COVID
Nearly 30 million Americans who got extra government help with grocery bills during the pandemic will soon see that aid shrink - and there's a big push to make sure they're not surprised.

Officials in 32 states and other jurisdictions have been using texts, voicemails, snail mail, flyers and social media posts - all in multiple languages - to let recipients know that their extra food stamps end after February's payments. apnews.com


Remote Career Seekers Should Be Hopeful About The Future

How the travel industry explains the weird 2023 post-covid economy
 

300+ Violations, 500 Inspections at Dollar Tree & Family Dollar Stores Since 2017
The latest fine will cost the discount retailer $254K in fines

Business as usual: Mount Pleasant, Texas, Dollar Tree inspection finds storeroom exits blocked, boxes stacked dangerously

National discount retailer faces another $254K in fines for workplace safety failures

DALLAS - Soon after federal workplace safety inspectors arrived at a Dollar Tree store in Mount Pleasant, Texas, they found the national discount retailer again shortchanging employee safety - continuing a pattern of disregard dating back to 2017 - by allowing storeroom merchandise to block exits and walkways and stacking boxes high enough to fall on workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued citations to Dollar Tree Inc. for three repeat violations and proposed $254,478 in penalties for the company's latest workplace safety infractions. On Sept. 7, 2022, OSHA opened an inspection at the Mount Pleasant store and found blocked exit routes that exposed employees to fire hazards. They also discovered boxes stacked at unstable heights with the potential to seriously injure workers.

The inspection also noted the company failed to keep passageways, storerooms, service rooms and walking-working surfaces clean, orderly and sanitary.

"In the event of an emergency, workers and others must have fast and safe access to unblocked exit routes," explained OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas. "Our inspectors found merchandise and other equipment blocking walkways and an emergency exit, this time in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Retailers like Dollar Tree that fail to make sure their stores' storage areas are organized and safe are endangering everyone who works and shops there."

Since 2017, federal and state OSHA programs identified more than 300 violations in more than 500 inspections at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores operated by Dollar Tree Inc., based in Chesapeake, Virginia. Blocked exit routes, unsafe working areas and unsafely stacked boxes and merchandise are all-too-commonly found by workplace safety inspectors. osha.gov


Deep Dive Into OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program
OSHA Ramping Up Enforcement of Workplace Safety Violations
In the third quarter of 2022, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced they were expanding criteria for placement on the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP).

The expansion of criteria for being entered into this program allows OSHA to conduct more rigorous enforcement before violators cause irreversible harm to their workforce. We'll review the role of OSHA, what the new SVEP criteria are, and how you can ensure your organization remains OSHA-compliant.

OSHA's Authority in the United States

OSHA has jurisdiction over 7 million worksites within the geographic boundaries of the United States. Employers who operate within this jurisdiction typically maintain compliance through regular record-keeping and mandated reporting.

OSHA has the authority to conduct in-person investigations for several reasons including notification of severe risk to workers, repeated injury claims, and reported fatalities. OSHA prioritizes inspections based on urgency, from imminent danger situations through follow-up inspections.

The Severe Violator Enforcement Program

The SVEP was established in 2010 to enable the concentration of investigative and enforcement resources to focus on the most "recalcitrant employers who demonstrate indifference to the health and safety of their employees through willful, repeated or failure-to-abate violations of the OSH Act."

New criteria for being placed in the SVEP

One of the most significant changes to the criteria is that organizations be placed in the SVEP after at least two willful, repeat, or failure-to-abate high-gravity violations of OSHA standards, regardless of hospitalization or fatality. This change is likely to result in more organizations being added to the SVEP list. accesswire.com


The Starbucks Union Fight
Judge Scales Back Ruling Against Starbucks in Union Fight

After barring Starbucks from firing any U.S.-based worker over labor activity, a federal judge said he had erred and limited the action to one store.

It was the most sweeping intervention by a court in the 18-month campaign to unionize Starbucks: Last week, a federal judge in Michigan issued an order blocking Starbucks from firing any U.S. worker because they engaged in collective action, like seeking to form a union.

Union supporters cheered. Starbucks seemed taken aback, calling the order "extraordinary" and "unwarranted" and denying that the company had broken the law.

But a few days later, the judge, Mark A. Goldsmith, announced that he had made certain unspecified "errors" and withdrew his earlier injunction. On Thursday, Judge Goldsmith issued a new injunction - only this time it was limited to a store in Michigan where a worker said she had been fired for her involvement in union organizing. The injunction's national scope had vanished.

As a result, Judge Goldsmith concluded, the evidence supported an injunction only at a store in Ann Arbor, Mich., where a labor board judge found in October that a worker had illegally been fired. nytimes.com


Top Retail Foot Traffic Winners
Placer.ai: These four retailers are ruling the roost
Discount and dollar (extreme-discount) stores won the hearts of many shoppers during the pandemic - and have since held onto them.

Four players that dominate the discount and dollar (extreme discount) store space - Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Five Below - were among the biggest foot traffic winners throughout the pandemic and 2022, according to foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai.

The report also shows that visits to discount and dollar stores are outpacing visits to shopping centers, grocery stores and superstores as of January 2023. But that's not new - the sector has been beating the others in terms of foot traffic going back to January 2020, noted Placer.ai. chainstoreage.com


Party City is planning to close 22 stores after filing for bankruptcy

Walmart is closing a batch of stores in 2023 - here's the full list

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From Russia With Love
Russian national accused of developing, selling malware appears in U.S. court

Dariy Pankov faces up to 47 years in prison on charges linked to credential sales and offering access to the NLBrute malware.

A Russian national accused of developing and licensing the "NLBrute" malware and selling at least 35,000 compromised logins appeared in a Florida federal court on Tuesday facing charges of conspiracy, access device fraud and computer fraud.

Dariy Pankov, also known as "dpxaker," was arrested in the Republic of Georgia on Oct. 4, 2022 and was recently extradited to the United States, U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg said in a statement Wednesday. Pankov faces a maximum of 47 years in federal prison if convicted on all counts, Handberg said.

Pankov stands accused of developing NLBrute - also known as nl.exe or nlbrute.exe - and advertising it for sale on an underground forum as early as June 2016, according to an indictment unsealed this week. During that time he also sold more than 35,000 compromised login credentials for access to systems around the world, including in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Australia. At least two of those sales were to undercover U.S. law enforcement officers, according to the indictment, and involved login credentials for two separate Florida-based law firms.

Credentials sold by Pankov were "used to facilitate a wide range of illegal activity, including ransomware attacks and tax fraud," Handberg's statement said.

Between August 2016 and January 2019 Pankov netted nearly $360,000 from both credential sales and offering access to NLBrute, prosecutors allege. The indictment was originally filed in April 2019 and includes notice that the government intends to take $358,437 in restitution.

"Mr. Pankov maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court," his attorney, Igor Litvak, told CyberScoop in an email. "He has plead not guilty."  cyberscoop.com


Cybersecurity Workers Least Affected by Tech Layoffs
Cybersecurity layoffs in 2023: What to expect?
The economic downturn predicted for 2023 will lead to layoffs but cybersecurity workers will be least affected, says the latest (ISC)² report. Also, as soon as things get better, they will likely be the first ones to get (re)hired.

Execs have realized the importance of cybersecurity

"Asked to rank business functions most likely be involved in a first round of layoffs, 31% of respondents cited cybersecurity as the least likely to be impacted. In comparison, a far higher number of respondents ranked HR (44%), sales (41%) and operations (40%) higher for likely job cuts," (ISC)² noted.

When asked why are cybersecurity roles less likely to be on the chopping block, respondents' answers included:

• A bad economy = more people out for work = increase in cybercrime / rise of cybersecurity threats

• We can't risk getting breached, cybersecurity is critical for the functioning and prosperity of our business

Factors playing a role in potential 2023 cybersecurity layoffs

Judging by the respondents' answers, junior cybersecurity staff is more likely (63%) to get the ax than senior team members (41%), managers (29%) and cybersecurity executives (21%).

And when executives evaluate who will be laid off, job performance will be the most important factor (50%), followed by expertise/skill set (49%), skill redundancy (43%), diversity/team composition (37%), and salary (30%).

But cybersecurity workers will also be among the first ones to get (re)hired again once the exonomic situation improves, followed by IT and R&D workers.  helpnetsecurity.com


Tech, People & Procedures to be Cyber Ready
Benefits of proactive cyberthreat preparation

As cyberattacks increase in number and severity, it's important to stay up to date on the latest technology solutions and best operating practices.

Matthew Trushinski, vice president for product marketing at Arctic Wolf Networks and Patty Ryan, senior director and chief information security officer at QuidelOrtho, joined CyberScoop to give their insights on how organizations can prepare for cyber threats with proactive readiness.

"Getting proactive is everywhere from having a plan - to having technologies, policies, procedures and people in place to be able to respond that ... all the way to having technologies bought and integrated and attack surface visibility to make sure that you understand how someone might get in your critical assets, what they might obtain, and how you would react to and keep your either business or organization running during that time," says Trushinski.

Ryan says that "preparedness" is not only about technology and IT but the people. She says it's essential to ensure "leadership understands their role in governance and accountability with regards to security, their need for supporting the security program, and understand that they are part of the toning culture, of a security by design across the organization."

She also shared that QuidelOrtho regularly holds tabletop exercises and most recently held one of their chief executives. She says it was "eye-opening for them to see how a scenario could evolve." She said that during the exercise, they brought the different executives in real-time, briefing them and having them make decisions with constant scenario changes.

Trushinski and Ryan further explain the right capabilities an organization needs to have to detect and respond to breaches to minimize risks, be resilient to an attack, and prevent more in the future. "Proper vulnerability management and prioritization is a huge component of being resilient," says Trushinski, while Ryan stresses the importance of engaging c-suite decision-makers. cyberscoop.com


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San Diego County, CA: Update: Smash-'n'-Grab Sunglass Thieves Sentenced For San Diego County Spree
Two men who committed a series of brazen organized retail theft crimes at Sunglass Hut locations and other high-end stores across San Diego County were sentenced Thursday to three years and eight months in state prison, prosecutors said. Ernesto Louis Cruz, 27, and Jordan Guzman Lopez, 27, both pleaded guilty to robbery and grand theft charges, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan stated. Cruz and Lopez stole hundreds of pairs of sunglasses worth $238,847 from nine Sunglass Hut store locations, targeting some more than once, per the district attorney. The other robberies include more than $4,000 in Nordstrom Rack shoes, $7,000+ in merchandise from Bloomingdales and over $6,000 in jackets from Burberry. timesofsandiego.com


Fort Lauderdale, FL: $30K in jewelry stolen in distraction theft at Galleria Mall Macy's; 4 at large
A group of thieves carried out a high-priced heist at The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale, walking out of a department store with tens of thousands of dollars in jewelry. Fort Lauderdale Police on Thursday released surveillance video of the four people who, they believe, stole roughly $30,000 worth of jewelry from the Macy's at the shopping center, located along the 2300 block of East Sunrise Boulevard, Saturday afternoon. Detectives said the three men and a woman captured in the security footage worked together to rob the store at around 5 p.m. The surveillance video showed two of the men speaking with a Macy's employee. Detectives said the pair were distracting the employee so that the other two subjects had enough time to open a jewelry case, grab the merchandise and walk out. wsvn.com


New Hartford, NY: Police searching for suspects in Home Depot theft
New Hartford police are searching for a man and a woman suspected of stealing more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from the Home Depot on French Road. The theft happened on Feb. 6. Photos of the suspects were captured from the store's surveillance video and posted to social media on Wednesday in an effort to help identify and locate them.  wktv.com


GameStop Offers $5,000 Reward To Stop PS5 Crime Spree
The good thing about the PlayStation 5 shortage being over now is that people who want the consoles can finally buy them. The bad news is that it's also apparently led to an uptick in GameStop robberies as thieves target the pricey and easy-to-flip consoles. GameStop's answer? A $5,000 reward for catching thieves, even as company cutbacks leave many employees to fend for themselves. Kotaku recently reported on a Northeastern Pennsylvania store where thieves made off with 10 PS5s at $500 each, but it's far from the only recent incident. Polygon points out that nearly 30 GameStops were robbed in the last months according to local news reports. While that's only one percent of all of the stores in the U.S., it's a potentially troubling trend for employees increasingly tasked with being the sole person on shift due to cutbacks in hours, layoffs, and issues with attrition.  finance.yahoo.com


Acadia Parish, LA: Man Wanted by Acadia Crime Stoppers for $10,000 Burglary & Felony Theft
Duson Police Chief Kip Judice tells us that this week's Crime Stoppers of Acadia Parish segment centers around a man who is alleged to have stolen well over $10,000 worth of merchandise. Acadia Parish Crime Stoppers officials are seeking help in finding Kevin Blanchard, II for Burglary and Felony theft.  kpel965.com


Escambia County, FL: Female Walmart Shoplifter Charged With $700 Felony Theft, Possessing Device To Avoid Detection, 3 Prior convictions