Police busted two women who tried to return shoes at the Marshalls in the Arsenal Mall which they had taken from another location of the store.
On the afternoon of May 5, security at Marshalls spotted two women in line, and bother were seen returning shoes for gift cards, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor.
One woman returned two pairs of shoes and got a gift card for $698, O’Connor said.
The second woman, identified as Brianna Andrews of Dracut, returned two pieces of clothing and two pairs of shoes for a total of $372.97, which she received on a gift card.
“When she was leaving she picked up three notebooks off the sales counter and concealed them in her pocketbook,” O’Connor said. “She tried to leave without paying but she was detained by security.”
The other woman, later identified as Samantha Giroux of Dracut, ran out of the store and she could not be located by security, O’Connor said.
When officers asked for Andrews’ identification, she gave them a false name and a driver’s license that police discovered had been stolen, O’Connor said.
The scheme was not a new one for Marshalls or its parent company, TJX.
“TJX security had been in the process of investigating a theft ring where people exchanged stolen shoes for gift cards,” O’Connor said.
While Giroux was not caught that day, police were able to locate a car that she and Andrews had arrived it, and traced it to Giroux.
“Officers were able to recover three other pairs of stolen shoes,” O’Connor said. “In the search of the car, officers found narcotics.”
Andrews, 24, was arrested on charges of shoplifting by concealment, receiving stolen property over $250, larceny over $250 by false pretense, possession of a stolen driver’s license and possession of a Class B drug, O’Connor said.
Police did not locate Giroux, but they summonsed her to Waltham District Court on charges of receiving stolen property over $250 and larceny over $250 by false pretense, O’Connor said.