Mebane, NC: Southern Female Jewelry Store Bandit hits Jared in NC, marking her 6th Armed Robbery
A woman possibly sought in 5 other jewelry store robberies in the South - netting more than $450,000 worth of goods - is wanted after now robbing a store in North Carolina. The young woman, who has robbed jewelry stores in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Tennessee, is accused of tying up two workers during a jewelry store robbery Monday at Tanger Outlets in Mebane. The incident was reported around 10:30 a.m. at the Jared Vault. No one was injured. Mebane police said the woman showed a handgun and ordered the employees to a back room before tying them up with zip-ties. In previous robberies of jewelry stores, the woman also showed a gun and tied up workers at the stores with zip-ties. The woman fled with an undisclosed amount of merchandise, but so far has stolen more than $450,000 worth of jewelry in the six total robberies, officials say. Police released a surveillance image of the suspect. She stands about 5'8″ tall, weighs about 120 pounds and should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. The same woman may be involved in similar robberies in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, police said. Before Monday, the last jewelry store she robbed was in mid-October in Tennessee. greensboro.com

Santa Monica, CA: Police Arrest Men From The Bronx
Inside Apple Store On Fraud
Santa Monica police arrested two men from The Bronx, New York, on Thursday, Dec. 24, after trying to buy 12 iPhones with fraudulent gift cards at the Apple Store in Santa Monica. Santa Monica Police had been informed that two suspects had entered the store at 12:32 pm and had attempted to purchase 12 iPhones by using numerous gift cards. The security staff also told the officers that they had recognized one of the suspects from a previous suspicious purchase and theft attempt at the store. The officers noticed that when the suspects spotted the officers walking towards them the suspects became agitated and began to walk towards the exit. The officers moved in with haste and asked the suspects if they were willing to have a conversation, to which they agreed.

The officers spoke with the suspects individually, asking each one about the gift cards and although each suspect claimed that the gift cards were legitimate they gave conflicting stories about how the gift cards had been obtained. Given these conflicting stories, the circumstances about the attempted purchase, the prior theft attempt and multiple recent incidents of identity theft and credit card fraud at the Apple Store the officers arrested these two men, and they were each charged with intent to commit a crime, grand theft, identity theft and conspiracy. When the officers arrived with the suspects at the jail they searched the suspects and discovered numerous fraudulent gift cards amongst their possessions. smmirror.com

Wayne, NJ: Woman Caught Shoplifting $2,000 Worth Of Bras And Perfume at Willowbrook Mall; Police believe she is part of a shoplifting 'gang' that has hit several Victoria's Secret area stores
A Pennsylvania woman was charged with shoplifting after she was caught putting more than $2,300 worth of bras and cologne from Victoria's Secret in the Willowbrook Mall Saturday night, Wayne police said. Cynthia Mary Roman, 39, of Tobyhanna, Pa., was caught putting 49 bras and 10 bottles of women's cologne worth more than $2,300 into a bag as she walked through the store, said Capt. Laurence Martin. Loss prevention officers at the store said they think Roman is part of an organized shoplifting "gang" responsible for stealing merchandise from various Victoria's Secret store in the region, Martin said. Police said Roman had a $1,300 warrant out for her arrest out of Paramus. She was released on the shoplifting charge and released on her own recognizance on the Paramus warrant, Martin said. patch.com

Lincoln, IL: Repeat thieves arrested with $250 in Walgreens merchandise; arrested 6 times in 2015
Three people were arrested Saturday outside the Wal-Mart in Lincoln on collective charges of burglary, retail theft and possession of a hypodermic needle. Lincoln Police responded to a call from the Walgreens store on Woodlawn Road around 6 p.m. alleging that the group was spotted shoplifting personal care items. As the officers were searching the vehicle to recover those items, they also discovered a hypodermic needle, leading to the arrest of Nicole R. Glasscock, on charges of burglary, obstructing identification and possession of the syringe. Glasscock was charged with retail theft six times in 2015 in Sangamon County, with five of those instances resulting in felony level charges and two of them being on consecutive days (Aug. 16 and 17). Glasscock had also faced multiple retail theft misdemeanor cases in Sangamon County in the two years before. The two people with her were also arrested on the charge of burglary and retail theft. lincolncourier.com

Racine, WI: Smash & Grab of Apple products at Target
Police are seeking two men wanted for a smash-and-grab theft of electronics at the Target store Sunday afternoon. According to Racine police, who were called at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, the two men were seen walking around inside Target, 5300 Durand Ave., for some time. Then one of them produced a metal tool and used it to smash into a glass case containing Apple-branded products including iPads and Apple Watches. The men grabbed several of the products and dashed out the emergency doors on the store's east end. journaltimes.com



Wayne, NJ: Shoplifter busted with a plastic bag full of ladies perfume from Victoria's Secret
A man was caught shoplifting women's perfume from Victoria's Secret in the Willowbrook Mall Monday, Wayne police said. Police were told by loss prevention personnel at the mall that Kyle Tucker, 27, of Haskell, walked around Victoria's Secret filling a black plastic bag with women's perfumes. Mall security officers detained Tucker outside the store until police arrived. patch.com