Phone leads police to alleged thieves
WOONSOCKET — Thanks to Apple’s “find my phone” feature, it didn’t take long for police to track down two women who allegedly stole more than $800 in cash and other valuables from a senior citizen inside an East Woonsocket discount store.
Shayna E. Scurry, 28, of 376 Robinson St., and Arcadia E. Jackson, 26, of 108 Cato St., were arraigned on one count each of felony larceny and conspiracy in Sixth District Court on Wednesday.
The previous afternoon, police said, a 68-year-old woman was shopping for plastic food containers at the Dollar Tree, 1900 Diamond Hill Road, when two unfamiliar women, accompanied by an infant boy, approached her – seemingly to make small talk. A few minutes later, while she was in the checkout area, she opened her purse and realized that some of its contents were missing.
Among them: an envelope containing eight $100 bills; a food stamp card with a redemption value of approximately $150; a driver’s license; several credit cards, a Social Security card; and her Apple iPhone. After retracing her steps and trying to figure out what happened, the woman realized that she’d been flim-flammed back in plastics aisle. One of the female strangers, she concluded, had distracted her while the other pilfered the belongings from the purse in her shopping cart. A clerk remembered the two women leaving the store, seemingly in a hurry, after purchasing nothing.
The victim called the police and family members, who offered to provide officers the location of the phone by using Apple’s built-in GPS phone-locator feature. A few minutes later, police had an address – 108 Cato St.
Scurry answered the door when they responded. While attempting to question her about her activities earlier that afternoon, Scurry broke into tears and tried to lock herself in the bathroom, yelling that she was going to call her mother.
After police put her in handcuffs, it was Jackson who offered to lead investigators to the victim’s stolen phone. Officers found it lying outside in the snow, behind Jackson’s apartment.
“She stated that she and Scurry hid the phone there,” Officer Dominic Pompeii reported.
The phone was returned to the victim, but neither the cash nor other valuables that vanished in the alleged theft were recovered. Later that night, an employee of the Dollar Tree called Pompeii to report that a worker had located the victim’s wallet inside the store, but it was “empty of all its contents,” Pompei said.
Scurry and Jackson were both released on $3,000 personal recognizance after the court entered pleas of not guilty on their behalf during preliminary appearances in Sixth District Court.
They’re due back in court for another hearing on June 5.