Women ditch $8,000 in stolen goods in ‘shoplifting spree’ at Georgia mall, cops say
Two women left an Atlanta-area mall with $8,000 in merchandise, but police said they didn’t pay for any of it.
Now, they’re wanted on theft and other charges in connection with the “shoplifting spree” at the Mall of Georgia, according to the Gwinnett County Police Department.
It happened June 22 at the 1.7-million-square-foot shopping center in Buford, police said. Authorities accused the women, a 27-year-old and 29-year-old, of stealing from nine different stores in one day.
Officers were called to the Dick’s Sporting Goods inside the mall after police said a store employee saw the duo stealing “large quantities of merchandise.” The women left soon after, according to police, and headed toward a white car parked just outside.
When the employee confronted them, the women dropped everything and ran — and even left their car behind, authorities said.
Officers got a search warrant for the car and found six big garbage bags filled with stolen items, police said.
A photo of their haul, shared by police, showed more than a dozen scented candles, sandals, socks, perfumes, pants and other clothing. In all, authorities said the merchandise was worth approximately $8,000.
Both women were still wanted as of Tuesday, July 2, police said.
They were each charged with five counts of felony theft by shoplifting, nine counts of possession of tools for the commission of a crime, nine counts of loitering and four counts of misdemeanor shoplifting, according to authorities.
Buford is about a 40-mile drive northeast from downtown Atlanta.