Thong thief sent to the can

NORRISTOWN >> A 53-yearold admitted thong thief with a long history of retail larceny has been sentenced to jail time for stealing the ladies’ undergarments from a Hatfield department store in October.

John Henry Sarau, of the 2800 block of Hill Road — who also goes by the aliases “Robert Lund,” “Sammy Velasquez” and “Lisa Collins,” according to court records — appeared in Montgomery County court and pleaded guilty to third-degree retail theft in connection with the Oct. 9 incident at the Kohl’s store on the 2300 block of Welsh Road, as well as a thirddegree felony retail theft charge in another unrelated case.

Montgomery County Judge William R. Carpenter sentenced Sarau to one to two years of incarceration and ordered him to pay nearly $500 in restitution to Kohl’s for the thongs and other items he stole, records show.

Prosecutors dropped a third-degree felony receiving stolen property charge as part of Sarau’s plea deal.

According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, a Kohl’s loss prevention employee reported to Hatfield police that a retail theft had occurred on Oct. 9 in which a man exited the store with two stolen duffel bags filled with merchandise that had also been stolen, and that he got into a Dodge pickup truck and drove off.

The Kohl’s employee said that the suspect took eight pairs of Maidenform thong underwear, as well as a pair of Nike shoes, four bath towels, slippers, and other items, then went to the luggage section of the store, selected two duffel bags, stuffed all the stolen items in the bags, and left the store, according to the