Fencing Operation: Convenience store manager confesses - food stamp fraud scheme & turning baby formula into cash - year-long investigation  Kroger shoplifter turns informant and helps police with multiple buys from JD's Mart in Louisville, Ky. Stealing baby formula from Kroger and selling it to the c-store manager for cash was the scheme but the investigation uncovered a larger scheme. Police found 93 debit cards for food stamps. Begum confessed to her role in the food stamp fraud Monday and pleaded guilty in Jefferson Circuit Court. The store manager faced neraly 100 theft and fraud charges but was given three years diversion. The store must pay a $20,000 fine and can no longer accept EBT or WIC benefits if it opens again. wdrb.com

$9,000 Murfreesboro Theft from Amazon hits Ebay
Amazon reported a sizable theft in recent days. An employee at the Murfreesboro site on Joe B. Jackson Parkway allegedly stole several thousand dollars' worth of electronics and sold them on Ebay. A loss prevention worker was able to track the stolen items down which is what led to the report. Suspect Stephen Holder wrote out a statement admitting to the theft. Police say that Holder informed them that he had been stealing from Amazon since April of 2015 and would conceal items inside his wallet, his pants or his shoes and then exit the building. Some of the merchandise was found in his vehicle, other merchandise had already been sold via Ebay. At this time, the estimated loss totals about $9,000. wgnsradio.com

One arrested, two wanted for $30,000 Shoplifting in Winchester, VA  The Winchester Police Department arrested and charged a man for allegedly shoplifting thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from stores in at least two different states. Investigators are still looking for two other suspects. Henrry Aguilar, 20 was charged with possession of stolen property, driving without a license and obstruction of justice for giving police false identities of the two other suspects. He is being held without bond at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center. Officers arrested Aguilar Friday during a traffic stop, after being called to Belk at Apple Blossom Mall in Winchester. They were told a man and woman left the store with a suitcase and shopping bag full of clothing. "Officers got information on the vehicle that the suspects left in. Another officer initiated a traffic stop with that vehicle, and they searched that vehicle and found numerous stolen items," said Lauren Cummings, spokesperson for the Winchester Police Department. The merchandise was stolen not only from Apple Blossom Mall, but as far away as Frederick, Md. Investigators are still searching for the other two suspects who ran from the vehicle when it was pulled over. The Winchester Police Department is still determining how many stores were hit and how long similar thefts in the area have been occurring. "We're still determining the exact dollar amount on all of the stolen merchandise, but we believe it to be somewhere around $20,000 to $30,000," Cummings said. your4state.com

$11,000 worth of Victoria's Secret underwear stolen from The Shoppes at River Crossing, Macon, GA  The Victoria's Secret in Macon has been shedding lingerie. Bras and panties worth $11,408 have gone missing from the store -- likely the work of thieves -- since early this month. The day after Mother's Day, a store worker called Bibb County sheriff's deputies to report that an "unknown person" had taken $5,669 in undergarments the previous weekend and $5,739 more disappeared that weekend. In the second theft, 92 pieces of what a deputy's write-up described as "ladies wear" were taken from The Shoppes at River Crossing store. macon.com

Career criminal busted in elaborate theft of DVD players in Decatur, IL
Decatur Police and loss prevention officers from Walmart used video surveillance to hunt down a sophisticated shoplifter who had walked out of a store with more than $1,200 worth of DVD players. Sworn police statements say Charles Miller, 51, was found working an "inventory reduction sale" Saturday at the Macon County Fairgrounds and was recognized from pictures pulled from video surveillance. He was arrested and allegedly broke down and confessed to patrol officer Michael Claypool. "Charles was upset and said he suffered from a heroin addiction," said Claypool in his statement. "Charles made an unsolicited statement that he had stolen the items to pay for his addiction." Loss prevention officers at the Walmart store had become suspicious a crime had been committed on Thursday, when a child's buggy was found dumped in the bicycle aisle without its box packaging. Surveillance video was reviewed and it allegedly showed a man matching Miller's description entering the store earlier Thursday and later cutting the buggy out of its cardboard box. Leaving the empty box in the bicycle aisle, Miller proceeds to make several trips to the electronics section and returns to the buggy box, eventually filling it with 15 DVD players. herald-review.com

CVS Robbery suspect in Lexington Co. SC caught selling stolen painkillers  Lexington County Sheriff's deputies arrested a woman on Monday after they say she was trying to seal prescription painkillers from a CVS store. Shanna Marie Daigle, 25, was charged after a deputy responded to a call concerning the robbery at the CVS Pharmacy at 2908 Emanuel Church Road, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. The deputy saw a person who matched the description of the robber exit the front door of the pharmacy and get in the driver's seat of a gray 2005 Nissan Frontier pickup truck that was parked in the pharmacy's parking lot, Koon said. Deputies say several bottles of prescription painkillers, including methadone, Oxycontin and hydrocodone fell out of Daigle's clothing when the deputy took her into custody. According to the arrest warrant, Daigle walked into the pharmacy with her hand in her pocket, leading employees to think she was armed with a gun. The warrant said Daigle demanded that employees at the pharmacy counter provide her with all the prescription painkillers in stock. wistv.com

Holmes Beach, FL man busted at The Home Depot in refund scam
A Holmes Beach man about to face a June trial for heroin possession and related charges was arrested in connection with a shoplifting scheme. William Ariss Brown, 30, was arrested May 7 by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office after he allegedly placed two 5-gallon cans of paint in a shopping cart at Home Depot in Bradenton, and left the store without paying. In the parking lot, he allegedly gave the cart to a woman who attempted to return the paint to Home Depot for gift cards. The escapade was caught on video and witnessed by the store's loss prevention officer, according to the MCSO report. MCSO deputies arrested Brown for felony theft and transported him to the Manatee County jail. Brown had been out on bond after a March arrest in Longboat Key for heroin possession, driving on a suspended license and possessing paraphernalia. islander.com

Bryan, TX Police, with the help of a confidential informant, seized a U-Haul van stacked with $19,000 dollars of tires and wheels stolen from a new car dealer in Hallettsville  According to the arrest report, the undercover operation...which started Friday night at seven...ended Saturday morning around 6:30 with the arrest of 23 year old Denzel Ellis of Bryan. According to jail records, Ellis is also wanted in Madison County to serve six months for failure to pay child support. wtaw.com

Retail fraud suspect wanted by several agencies arrested in Kentwood, MI  Authorities with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department say a woman who was facing charges for a number of retail fraud complaints has been arrested in Kent County. Simpson, 36, is currently being held in the Kent County Jail. Authorities say she was arrested during a shoplifting complaint investigation in the Kentwood area. Authorities in Kalamazoo County issued a bulletin last week saying Simpson was wanted by at least 4 separate law enforcement agencies on eight outstanding warrants linked to retail fraud. Investigators say they'll seek enhanced charged from the Organized Retail Fraud Crime Act following her latest arrest. fox17online.com

Brockville, On CN Walmart shoplifters attempted to flee with $700 in merchandise  Two women were arrested after leaving the Brockville Walmart store on Friday, according to city police. The suspects were apprehended with merchandise valued at about $700. One of the women distracted staff while the other wheeled out a cart full of items, a police news release stated. The 35-year-old women from the Kanata area were charged with theft and given court dates. insidebrockville.com