Shoplifter changes her skirt, but not her technique, cops say
Shemay have changed her flowingskirt– trading festive floral for basic black– but the shoplifting technique employed by the light-fingered woman and her portly male partner remain the same, authorities said. And so, too, is their target. Almost a year after the couple were caught on surveillance video boosting more than $1,000worth of electronics by stuffing the items up or into her voluminous skirt, the couple returned to the same Radio Shack in Weston to help themselves to more packaged goods, according to Broward Sheriff’s detectives.
Value this time: about $400, according to investigators.
“They’re very skilled,” said BSO spokeswoman Gina Carter. “They steal hundreds of dollars worth in a few minutes. They have figured out this what they’re doing.”
At about 1p.m. on January 20, the couple waltz into the Radio Shack at 4563Weston Road and as he keeps a lookout she calmly takes small packaged items fromthe shelves and deposits them into her skirt, the video shows.
“Detectives believe she has some kind of bag or pockets sewn into the inner lining of the skirt,” said Carter. “This is not a crime of opportunity. They are going in there prepared and have the tools they need. This is not a one-off crime.”
About the same time of day on Feb. 26, surveillance cameras captured the same couple in the act of stealing more than $1,000 worth of computer components at the same store using the same method.
The woman is approximately 5’6” tall and 150 pounds with brown, mediumlength hair.
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The man appears to be in his 40s, has a stocky frame, is approximately 5’8”, 250 pounds, with dark hair. He is balding, detectives said.
“They are aware of the camera and look straight into it,” said Carter. “It’s brazen. Because they’ve done it before and didn’t get caught, maybe they do feel confident. We just need a tip that will lead to their arrest.”
The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about these incidents to call Detective MichaelKravecz at954-389-2010 or anonymously report information to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at www.browardcrimestoppers.
Crime Stopperswill pay up to $3,000 for an anonymous tip that leads to an arrest.