An Outside Job
On Thursday, October 28, at 3:20 p.m., officers were called by the loss prevention agent at Nordstrom’s, located at the 200 block of Broadway, regarding a theft suspect that had been taken into custody.
When the officers arrived they learned from the loss prevention agent, that this suspect had entered Nordstrom’s, and had attempted to return two shirts, valued at $393 worth of product, but without the benefit of a receipt. Officers identified this suspect as a person who had a history of returning items without receipts (perhaps he should also attempt to steal a filing cabinet). This suspect also had two documented petty thefts from the store. The officers learned that as he had waited for the returns to be processed he had walked around the store, and had visited the watch display counter, whereupon he had placed a watch worth $250 in a bag. He had then proceeded to the bathroom, and had exited a short time later. After he had left the bathroom, the staff had entered it, and discovered an empty watch box. The suspect then left the building without paying for said timepiece. It was at that point that the loss prevention agents had performed a citizen’s arrest upon this time bandit. The result of this person’s visit to Nordstrom’s was that he, namely a 52-year-old transient, was arrested for burglary, parole violation, possession of burglary tools, and receiving stolen property. He was not eligible for bail. It is assumed that he may do some “time” for this crime.
An Inside Job
On Saturday, October 30, at 6:24 p.m., officers were again called to Nordstrom’s regarding another theft suspect in custody. The officers went to the scene in order to discover what was going on, and spoke with the loss prevention agent (they could well have been on first name terms by now, it’s fair to assume). The loss prevention agent explained to the officers that this time it was an employee who was the suspect in this, the latest case of mendacious mischief at the store. The police learned that this employee (perhaps “ex” would be the appropriate prefix by now) had completed fraudulent refunds using customer’s merchandise in order to add undue credit to Nordstrom gift cards, and that the loss prevention agent had placed the employee under citizen’s arrest for embezzlement. Based upon this evidence, the officers arrested this 20-year-old male, of Los Angeles, for embezzlement. His bail is $20,000.
