Two retail thefts in less than two hours
By Brandon Davis
Published in News on April 26, 2017 10:07 AM
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Full SizeIn less than two hours, two men allegedly removed anti-theft devices from electronics at Target in separate theft attempts Monday afternoon.
Francisco Lee Mendez, 21, of Stantonsburg, removed an anti-theft device from wireless headphones worth $149 at 2:46 p.m., according to a Goldsboro police report.
Mendez, his wife and a friend were in the electronic department at the store, located at 1204 Sunburst Drive, when employees called the police.
Capt. Paige Learnard said Mendez's wife and friend were not involved in the attempted theft.
Mendez is charged with larceny from a merchant. He was arrested and placed under a $5,000 secured bond.
Learnard said Mendez is no longer in jail.
At 4:14 p.m., Deandre Stephaun Jimmerson, 23, of Garner, entered the store and removed an anti-theft device from a Roku 4K Ultra HD (TV streaming box) worth $100, according to a report.
Jimmerson left the store without paying after removing the device. Officers arrived at the store and found Jimmerson with the item in his possession outside the store.
He is charged with larceny by defeat anti-theft. He was arrested and placed under a $5,000 bond.
Learnard said Jimmerson is still in jail.
She said officers have been called to Target and Wal-Mart "frequently," but she said both stores carry loss prevention teams to decrease thefts.
"They seem to have a pretty good loss prevention team at Target," she said. "It's usually, fairly smooth with them, and they seem to be on things pretty quick."
"Wal-Mart is too. They have a really good team also."