Content about Theft

Authorities are investigating a theft ring involving two men -- one who disguised himself as a woman -- who may have targeted Home Depot stores in three states, according to an article in The Daily Oklahoman.

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying two men suspected of stealing six Husqvarna chain saws at a Lowe’s store in Springfield, Mass., according to a report on WGGB-TV, an ABC affiliate.

On May 21, the individuals allegedly placed the items, valued at $766 each, in a store cart and wheeled it out the front door. 

A case that started with a group of Home Depot customers reporting two suspected shoplifters in Beaverton, Ore., has produced its first conviction. William Hazelwood, 35, pled guilty to one count of first degree theft and was sentenced to 1.5 years of probation and ordered to pay attorney fees, plus an assessment and surcharge, according to an article in The Oregonian.

Two members of a retail theft ring charged with stealing more than $100,000 worth of merchandise from Lowe’s stores in five western states were convicted of multiple felony counts by a federal jury in the western district of Washington State. 

Manchester, N.H., police are looking for a suspect who pulled an electronic stun gun on a loss prevention officer at a local Home Depot store. The Nov. 9 robbery, reported by WMUR television news, started as a shoplifting incident until the individual -- described as a white man in his 20s, about 5 ft. 9 ins. tall and 160 pounds -- was confronted when leaving the store without paying for two lawnmower engine bands. The merchandise was valued at approximately $150. 

An Albuquerque man arrested for allegedly stealing from Home Depot and Lowe’s on multiple occasions was using homeless people to return the merchandise for refunds, according to a news report on KRQE.

Rodney Segura was apprehended inside a Lowe’s store on Sept. 28 by detectives who had been following the suspect, according to the report. Lowe’s loss prevention officers said they also had Segura under surveillance.

A police operation targeting businesses that allegedly buy stolen merchandise for resale resulted in nine arrests in New Britain, Conn., according to an article in the Hartford Courant. 

Copper shoplifting is on the rise at home improvement stores across the country, but in the Fort Meyers, Fla., area, thieves may have come up with a novel way to steal the valuable metal. According to a story in the Fort Myers News Press, two men have been arrested for repeatedly shoplifting items from a Lowe’s store in Cape Coral, Fla., returning the items for store credit and then purchasing copper tubing, which they would sell to a recycling yard.

Shoplifters and dishonest employees stole more than $7 billion last year from just 23 major retailers, according to the 23rd Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International. These 23 surveyed retailers apprehended more than 1 million shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2010 and recovered more than $148 million from these thieves. 

According to an article in the Shawangunk Journal, a manager of an Ace Hardware store in Ellenville, N.Y., stands accused of stealing $14,000 from the store over a period of about six months.

Suspects are being sought by federal authorities for allegedly stealing $130,000 worth of merchandise from Lowe’s by smuggling it out in toilet and sink boxes, according to an article in the Seattle Post Intelligencer. 

Two brothers charged with stealing $1,000 worth of tools from several Home Depots in Northern California have taken a plea bargain, according to an article in the Chico Enterprise Record.

Yevgeniy Ivakhov, 24, and Valeriy Ivakhov, 19, pleaded guilty on May 4 to one felony count each of receiving stolen property in a Butte County Superior Court. The Ivakhovs had faced additional charges of second-degree commercial burglary and grand theft.