Three charged in brazen Market 32 theft

Video of suspects allegedly stealing about $1,700 worth of goods via shopping carts had gone viral

State police on Thursday served arrest warrants on three suspects allegedly involved in the brazen theft of Market 32 in Oxford, which went viral in early November, and potentially other larcenies across the state.

Two of the suspects were already being held at Department of Corrections facilities on unrelated charges. The third suspect posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Derby on Dec. 6. All three were charged with fourth-degree larceny and conspiracy to commit fourth-degree larceny.

On the morning of Nov. 9, a group of four people were seen loading shopping carts with laundry detergent and other highvalue, low-volume merchandise into shopping carts. They then left the store without paying for the items, quickly loaded them into a pair of vehicles parked outside the store in the fire lane and fled the scene, police said. The group stole about $1,700 worth of goods, according to court documents.

Despite the viral video posted to Facebook and Youtube capturing the theft, police said nobody called 911. The Oxford Resident Trooper’s office wasn’t made aware of the incident until 10 minutes later, well after those involved had fled.

Oxford police obtained in-store surveillance footage of the incident on Nov. 10.

In the video, police identified a male and female suspect who were later seen loading merchandise into a tan Honda Odyssey minivan.

On Nov. 11, a man called the Oxford Resident State Trooper’s office to report that he recognized the woman while watching video of the incident shown on local news. The woman lives in the same New Haven apartment complex, the man said, according to court documents, and the tan Honda minivan was parked nearby.

Oxford police traveled to the New Haven street where the van was reported and found a vehicle with “undoubtable matching damage” to the one in the video of the incident. The van had identical damage to the door handle, passenger door and tire area on the front-passenger’s side, police said in court documents.

Two more anonymous callers, fearing retaliation, later called police to say they recognized the people in the viral video of the incident because they live in the same apartment complex, according to court documents. The second anonymous caller recognized the tan minivan as well as the other car used in the theft, a tan Chevy Suburban.

On Nov. 15, police spoke with a “known associate” of the four people involved with the incident who identified them in the video.

According to court documents, the woman claimed the group is made up of two couples, some of whom have committed previous larcenies. The woman told police that one of the men involved was also responsible for the brazen theft of thousands of dollars worth of televisions from a BJ’S in Wallingford, which was also captured on video.

Another witness shared screenshots of one of the identified suspects, sending a picture of over 100 bottles of laundry detergent for sale, police said.

Police have identified a fourth suspect, but said their identity has not been confirmed and a warrant has not yet been served.