• 'Gypsy family' arrested for stealing $3 million worth of goods to pay for debt

    Torrance Police Department

    Police arrested four individuals from the Chicago area in Southern California as part of an investigation involving about $3 million worth of stolen merchandise.

     

    By Jonathan Lloyd, NBCLosAngeles.com

    A four-month investigation into a retail theft ring that targeted businesses in four states led authorities to arrest four people who described themselves as a "gypsy family" from Chicago that was attempting to pay off a debt.

    The group is behind an estimated $3 million in property theft from retail stores, including Apple, Best Buy, Costco, Microsoft, PetSmart, Sams Club, Sports Authority and Wal-Mart since 2009, according to the Torrance Police Department.

    The thieves — they often hid items in oversized clothes then mailed the property to out-of-state locations -- told investigators they took the merchandise to pay a $2 million family debt incurred years earlier.

    "At first look, the thefts appeared as singular crimes that occur every day to the retail industry, but when thoroughly analyzed, investigators were able to uncover the magnitude of the crimes being committed by this group," Torrance police said in a statement. "Investigators are optimistic that this arrest will lead to additional evidence in this ongoing investigation."

    The four suspects were arrested Thursday when they were located in Hawthorne. The subjects had just arrived in Southern California from Chicago for a court appearance in Santa Monica that stemmed from an earlier retail theft arrest.

    During a surveillance operation, the suspects took items from Apple stores and attempted to mail the property out of the state, according to investigators. More than $20,000 worth of Apple items was recovered during the surveillance operation, Torrance police said.

    Police identified the suspects as Ausra Bauzinskaite, 34; Adeliya Nassybullina, 30; Lukasz Karasinski, 37; and Przemyslaw Skiba, 31, all of Chicago. The suspects will face charges involving multiple counts of conspiracy to commit commercial burglary and grand theft.

    The four might be connected to 17 additional commercial burglaries in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to police. They are believed to be behind additional thefts in Colorado, Washington and Florida.

  • Cigarette shoplifter jailed over 22-year-old warrant

    Brevard County Sheriff's Office

    Robin Hall was arrested because she shoplifted cigarettes from a Wal-Mart back in 1991.

    By Josh Chapin, NBCConnecticut.com

    For one Connecticut woman in Florida, the saying "better late than never" doesn't apply.

    Robin Hall was arrested because of a bill she didn't pay 22 years ago and to make matters worse, she's also been stuck in jail for the last four days.

    "I just want it to be all over so I can go home," Hall said from her Brevard County Jail, Florida. She shoplifted cigarettes from a Wal-Mart back in 1991.

    For that Hall owes the state $85.

    The 22-year-old crime followed the Connecticut native to Port Canaveral, Florida Thursday where she, her husband and two kids were wrapping up a vacation.

    The family had been aboard the Disney Dream cruise ship and Brevard County police officers were waiting for her as she left the boat.

    "I was pulled to the side and told that I had a warrant," Hall added.

    Police said Hall failed to pay the $85 in court costs when she was 18 and when they checked the ship's passenger list for terrorists, they found a warrant for Hall.

    Since the incident she has put herself through college and now helps design jet engines for Pratt & Whitney.

    Read more news on NBCConnecticut.com

    "I take full responsibility for what I did but I do not believe I deserve this," Hall said.

    The Brevard County Jail won't let her post bail because it's a charge from a different county and she has to be transferred there. Yet with the long holiday weekend that might not be until Thursday.

  • Suspected shoplifter dies after being detained at California Walmart

    By Msnbc.com staff and wire

    A suspected shoplifter died at a Southern California Walmart store last Friday after fighting with store security workers who caught him in the parking lot, police said.

    The man's name was not available as of Sunday because his family had yet to be notified, Lt. Joe Bale of the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.


    Police found the suspect restrained by security workers and appearing to need medical attention, Covina police Lt. Holly Francisco told The Associated Press.

     

    "While being detained in the parking lot, the suspect began fighting with the loss prevention personnel," Deputy Peter Gomez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's bureau said in a written statement obtained by the Tribune.

    "When the (police) officers arrived, the suspect was being restrained by loss prevention officers," Gomez said, according to the report. "The Covina police officers saw the suspect appeared to be in medical distress and called for paramedics to respond."

    Police called paramedics, but the man was pronounced dead at the hospital. It was unclear whether his death was a result of the struggle or due to a pre-existent condition.

    Police told the AP the man was accused of stealing clothing and body wash. An investigation that includes an autopsy and a review of surveillance video is under way to determine the cause of death.

    Wal-Mart Stores spokeswoman Dianna Gee said in a statement that the security workers involved in the altercation are currently suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.

    “Any time there’s a loss of life, it’s a sad situation," Gee's statement read. "We don’t know all of the facts right now, but we are cooperating with law enforcement and providing any information we have to assist in the investigation."

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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  • FBI: 'Professional shoplifter' stole from Safeway more than 100 times

    FBI.gov

    During a seven-month stretch of shoplifting, John Patrick Weismiller earned $43,200, which represented more than $73,000 in retail losses, the FBI says.

    By James Eng, NBC News

    John Patrick Weismiller will have a hard time putting his sticky fingers to use at his next destination – behind bars.


    The 41-year-old Woodburn, Ore., man, described by prosecutors as a “professional shoplifter” who stole from Safeway stores in Oregon and Washington more than a hundred times, has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison.

    Authorities said Weismiller shoplifted everything from Crest teeth-whitening strips to Oil of Olay creams at stores such as Safeway, Target and Best Buy – usually by stuffing the products under his clothing – and then sold the items on eBay at half price under the handle “myotherjob2001.”

    Authorities say he pocketed $43,200 off shoplifted goods between January and July 2011. That translated into more than $73,000 in losses to the stores.

    “This guy was incredibly brazen,” FBI Special Agent Joe Boyer in Portland said in a statement Tuesday. “He was making his living doing this. This was his full-time job. He lived in a nice house in the suburbs with his wife and kids. If you lived next door, you would have no idea he was a thief.”

    Weismiller pleaded guilty to interstate transport of stolen goods and was sentenced last month by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in Portland, Ore., according to The Oregonian. After his prison sentence he must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution of nearly $21,000.

    Safeway’s loss-prevention team documented Weismiller stealing merchandise from its stores 105 times in early 2011, according to the FBI.

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    Boyer said most professional shoplifters, also known as “boosters,” have little fear of going to jail because their crimes are nonviolent. They are usually slapped with a fine and released.

    “The fact that Weismiller is now in prison should send a message to other boosters who think they are flying under the legal radar: The FBI is serious about these crimes, and professional shoplifters will end up behind bars,” he said in a statement.

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