A 34-year-old Cedar Crest man faces shoplifting and larceny charges after police say he used a magnet device to steal more than $1,180 worth of merchandise from a Rio Rancho Target store.
Rio Rancho police responded to the Target at 4225 Crestview Drive SE at approximately 12:42 p.m. Sunday after asset protection staff reported a man removing items from locked display cases using a magnet, according to a criminal complaint filed in Sandoval County Magistrate Court.
The man was also wearing a Target employee vest with a name tag, though he was not an employee, the complaint states.
Officers detained the suspect as he crossed the store’s checkout area with a reusable Target bag containing Apple AirTags, electronics and video games valued at $1,180.85, police said.
According to the complaint, the man told police the shoplifting was his “hustle” and that he sold stolen merchandise. He allegedly admitted to multiple other thefts, including one at an Albertsons store in the Cottonwood Mall area earlier the same day.
The man also told investigators he had additional stolen merchandise in his pickup truck parked outside the store, the complaint states.
Target’s database showed the same individual took approximately $315.97 worth of men’s clothing from a Target on Wyoming Boulevard in Albuquerque on Dec. 2, according to police. That theft had not been reported to Albuquerque police.
The suspect faces charges of shoplifting over $500 and larceny of $250 or less for taking the employee vest and name tag, valued at approximately $25.
Because the man was on probation at the time of his arrest, probation officials were contacted and issued a probation arrest order, according to the complaint.
Out on probation, probably released again. So when do we actually take action?
NO real consequences for criminals lets them know that they can keep committing crimes. And thus, we see that again and again like in this story.