Police in Austin, Texas, arrested nine suspects allegedly involved in four theft cases at Target, Kohl’s, and Lowe’s this week as holiday shopping gets underway.
One case involved four individuals who were attempting to hide merchandise at Kohl’s inside an empty baby stroller. The suspects abandoned the stroller when police confronted them outside the store and were quickly apprehended. Police recovered around $1,100 in stolen goods from the stroller and seized another $1,200 in stolen items from their vehicle. Three individuals, Melain Gomez, Alexis Garza, and Jesus Jimenez-Gomez, were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, a third-degree felony.
In another incident, a “high-value repeat offender” identified as Javier Rios was caught after he allegedly walked out of a Lowe’s in the area with a stolen air conditioning unit valued at $2,156 without paying for it. Authorities also found a stolen $609 shower kit in his vehicle. Rios was charged with theft and faced state jail felony charges and two outstanding arrest warrants.
Additional arrests were made this week, including a shoplifter who allegedly absconded with $1,050 in stolen items and a man who claimed the items were for family and friends. Police detained Martin Morales, 54, after he allegedly abandoned a cart with unpaid items and fled when confronted by Target employees and recovered stolen items from Morales and his accomplice Crystal Overby, who has an active warrant for her arrest.