A Failed Lego Return Helped Uncover An Alleged Target Theft Operation
How does a failed Lego return turn into an alleged theft operation involving multiple Target stores? Police say that's exactly what happened in Evansville.
A Lego set, sports trading cards and a candle don’t exactly sound like the makings of a major police investigation. But Evansville police say those items were tied to an alleged theft operation involving multiple Target locations, three arrests and a traffic stop that reportedly turned up suspected drugs.
The investigation began Monday when officers responded to the east-side Target after a reported theft. According to the police report, dispatchers told officers that three suspects were believed to be part of a group moving between Evansville Target stores and stealing merchandise.
Police later spotted the vehicle associated with the suspects and pulled it over. Inside were Miranda Hedrick, Pagerick Moody and Mario Smith, who were all placed in handcuffs.
Cops put the pieces together and made arrests
Smith reportedly gave officers his version of what had happened. He said he had been trying to return a Lego set at Target but was turned away because he didn’t have a receipt. He also reportedly told police that he believed Hedrick and Moody had been inside the store stealing.
Target’s asset protection employees told officers that Hedrick allegedly took a candle, Moody allegedly took a Lego set and sports trading cards, and Smith allegedly took sports trading cards. While officers were recovering the merchandise, police say they noticed Smith trying to destroy a baggie containing what they identified as K2.
Police searched the vehicle and say they found prescription pills inside Hedrick’s bag. Hedrick, Moody and Smith were arrested and booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail. All three face shoplifting and organized retail theft charges, while Smith and Hedrick also face drug-related charges.
“Organized Retail Theft” Doesn’t Just Mean More Than One Person Shoplifting
Three people allegedly moving between Target stores and taking merchandise sounds organized on the surface. But the term “organized retail theft” has a more specific meaning in the retail world, and it doesn’t automatically apply whenever more than one person is accused of shoplifting.
Target defines organized retail crime as coordinated merchandise theft carried out by criminal syndicates with the intention of making money by reselling the stolen goods. The company says it works with local, state and federal law enforcement to investigate these cases.
In the case of Evansville, Police reportedly told responding officers that the suspects were part of a group traveling between Target locations. As opposed to allegedly stealing from just one store, that detail is part of the reason the case involves organized retail theft charges.
Still, the police report doesn’t say that the merchandise recovered from the vehicle was going to be resold, nor does it provide much detail about how the alleged group operated. The available information establishes that police believed the three were connected to thefts at multiple Target locations, but it doesn’t give insight into the elaborate retail crime operation that the phrase might initially bring to mind.
Target’s Asset Protection Team Was Already Part Of The Investigation
The employees who first reported the allegedly stolen merchandise were part of Target’s asset protection team, a side of retail that is often not as well known. These employees are responsible for helping protect Target stores from theft and other forms of loss, and the company says they work with law enforcement when criminal activity is suspected.
Target also says its asset protection teams work with local, state and federal agencies on organized retail crime investigations. That can include sharing information with investigators, which gives retailers a role that extends beyond just reporting a suspected shoplifting incident.
In Evansville, the asset protection employees’ involvement meant police already had information about the alleged thefts when they stopped the suspects’ vehicle. What began with a report from a Target store ultimately became a case involving three defendants and several criminal charges.
Hedrick, Moody and Smith have not been convicted of the charges against them and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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