WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Shoplifter Caught on Tape
Member Center:
RICHMOND HILL, GA--Shop lifting, it's one of those crimes that's sometimes hard to catch and at times even goes unnoticed. That is if businesses don't have cameras. Luckily for one Richmond Hill business just starting out, they did and tape shows just how sneaky thieves can be.
Gail Speegle, owner of Dixie Outfitters in Richmond Hill, was shocked at how easy it was for someone to steal from her.
Tuesday morning a man, woman and child came into her store and stole a good bit of merchandise. At the time, Speegle didn't know it was happening, but the next day when she came in and saw empty hangers on the racks she decided to go look at her surveillance tapes.
It was plain as day, the man put his back to a rack of t-shirts, reached behind him and pulled shirts off the hangers and stuffed them down his pants. Speegle didn't notice because she was busy waiting on the woman that came in the store with him.
"It's very heartbreaking. Starting a new business, going on that limb, then having someone just come in and steal it's heartbreaking," said Speegle.
Dixie Outfitters was fortunate enough to have cameras but many businesses don't. Randall Caruthers, owner of Alarm Man, says businesses without cameras are most at risk of having stuff stolen and never even knowing it. "They go back and find missing stuff and they can only assume that it was somebody in the store that they're not use to seeing," said Caruthers.
Caruthers says this man knew exactly what he was doing when he walked in the door. "His girlfriend was blocking him in some of the shots; they had a kid wildly running around the store probably told to do that. It was a total diversionary tactic."
Speegle didn't see it at the time, but says now she has learned and is hoping others will learn from this as well.
Richmond Hill police are investigating. They say there has not been a rash of shoplifting in Richmond Hill; in fact, on average they only receive about one call every couple of weeks.
This case was solved on Saturday; Speegle said Richmond Hill police notified her that they identified the man and woman on the tape and were issuing a warrant for his arrest. She said the couple was behind bars by noon on Saturday.
Reported by: Christy Hutchings, chutchings@wtoc.com
