Four Charged with Shoplifting at Target

(Editor's note: one person's information has been removed from this article as they have given Patch paperwork showing their record had been expunged.)

South Brunswick Police charged four people with shoplifting over the past three weeks at the Target store on Route 1 as part of an ongoing crackdown on retail theft at the location.

The four separate incidents involved the attempted theft of nearly $2,000 worth of merchandise, according to police.

On Sept. 4 at 5:45 p.m., police charged Andre Richards, 20, of North Brunswick, for allegedly stealing two cell phones. Richards, who is a Radio Shack employee, was allegedly seen by a loss prevention officer taking two Virgin Mobile IPhones from a receiving area in the store before he left out of a back door, police said. The two phones are valued at $1,300.

On Aug. 14, at 4:30 p.m., Takiyah Holliman, 34, of Princeton, allegedly entered the store at two different times to steal merchandise, police said. Holliman allegedly placed several items in her cart, but only paid for one or two items, according to police.

After leaving the store, Holliman allegedly placed the items in the trunk of her car. Police said Holliman had intended to return the items for store credit at a later date. The total value of the stolen items was $121 dollars.

Each suspect was handcuffed and transported to police headquarters where they were photographed and fingerprinted before being released on a summons pending their first court appearance.

Target loss prevention has caught 28 people shoplifting thus far in 2012, according to police.