Pair arrested in TJ Maxx thefts

Two Cuyahoga County residents, one of whom was featured in a recent Willoughby Police Department Facebook post, were arrested on theft and drug-related charges Jan. 23 in Willoughby after one of them tried to flee on foot when police first approached them, a Willoughby Police Department news release states.

Arrested were 26-yearold Amber Goins, who lives in Parma, and 31-year-old Cleveland resident Andrew Perry.

According to the police department’s news release, officers got a tip Jan. 23 from a loss prevention agent at TJ Maxx that a man was seen stashing a Michael Kors purse under his clothing before walking out of the store without paying for it.

A TJ Maxx employee told officers when they arrived on scene that the man got into a white Toyota sportutility vehicle, which was then trying to leave the parking lot, police report.

Shortly after that, officers found the Toyota sitting in traffic near the intersection of Route 91 and Euclid Avenue, at which time the man seated in the passenger side of the vehicle got out and took off running, according to the news release.

A brief foot pursuit ensued, ending with the man, later identified as Perry, complying with police orders.

Goins was soon identified as the driver of the vehicle, to which K-9 officer Loki alerted investigators, who later found narcotics and drug paraphernalia inside, according to police.

Later, Perry was identified as the suspect sought in a Jan. 19 theft of two Michael Kors purses from the same TJ Maxx store, the release states.

The woman driving the Toyota was identified as Goins, who lives at 3102 Lincoln Ave. in Parma.

Police report she’s charged with first-degree misdemeanor theft and fourth-degree misdemeanor possession of narcotics equipment. Court records show she’s free after posting a $3,500/10 percent bond and has a pretrial scheduled Feb. 1.

Perry, whose address appears in his arraignment paperwork as 2038 W. 95th St. in Cleveland, is charged with fifth-degree felony heroin possession, two first-degree misdemeanor theft counts, first-degree misdemeanor possessing criminal tools and second-degree misdemeanor resisting arrest. He’s being held on a $7,500/10 percent bond and has a pretrial/preliminary hearing scheduled Feb. 1.

If convicted of the felony alone, Perry could get up to a year behind bars.

From left: Amber Goins, Andrew Perry