FCPD makes arrests in ‘organized’ thefts at ABC stores, Tysons retailers

FFX Now

By Angela Woolsey
Published August 16, 2024 at 10:30AM | Updated August 22, 2024 at 11:51AM

​The Fairfax County Police Department is continuing to crack down on retail store thefts with the assistance of local businesses, Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control and other law enforcement agencies.
Recent investigations have yielded arrests in several cases that targeted “high-end” retailers, particularly in Tysons, and Virginia ABC stores around the region, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis announced at a press conference yesterday.
At the briefing, Davis drew a distinction between the repeat, “organized” thefts that police are concerned about and the standard perception of shoplifting, a word he says he no longer uses because he feels it diminishes the seriousness of the crime.
Under a law adopted last year, Virginia defines organized retail theft as cases where multiple people collaborate to steal at least $5,000 over 90 days from one or more retail establishments “with the intent to sell such retail property for monetary or other gain.” The offense is a class 3 felony, carrying potential sentences of five to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $100,000.
“It’s not little Johnny stealing a Three Musketeers bar. It’s not a mother stealing formula to feed her children,” Davis said.

The “high-end” retail thefts
The FCPD reported yesterday that three suspects have been identified and one arrested in connection to the June 25 theft of designer handbags from Chanel in Tysons Galleria.
According to FCPD Deputy Chief Greg Fried, the individuals are part of a “crew” that has been stealing from high-end retailers across multiple states, distinguished by their use of a fire extinguisher to provide cover from loss prevention officers while they grab the merchadise.
The Chanel robbery lasted less than 15 seconds, but the suspects took over $60,000 worth of merchandise, Fried said. The FCPD initially estimated the value of the stolen goods as more than $100,000.
A 24-year-old man was arrested in Pennsylvania on Aug. 7 with help from the U.S. Marshals. Currently in custody without bond and awaiting extradition, he has been charged with robbery, larceny with intent to sell, conspiracy to commit a felony, assault via a caustic substance, organized retail theft, destruction of property, and petit larceny.
Detectives are searching for a 27-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man, both from Pennsylvania, who have been identified as suspects, and they’re still working to identify four other people believed to be involved.
Separately, two people were arrested on July 19 after detectives received an alert for a vehicle “known to be driven by an organized retail theft crew” in the Tysons area, according to a press release.
The 24-year-old and 19-year-old men from California are part of a four-person group nicknamed the “Air Pod crew” by the FCPD, which says they’ve been linked to approximately $170,000 worth of thefts from high-end boutique retailers in seven states. That includes about $35,000 from Fairfax County.
“We call them the ‘Air Pod crew,’ because they come in and they work in conjunction with each other, using Air Pods to communicate with each other and to try to disguise what they’re doing,” Fried said, noting that both men were released on $2,500 bonds.

Virginia ABC tightens security after larcenies
Liquor stores across Fairfax County and other jurisdictions in the D.C. region have become frequent targets for larcenies in recent months.
Four people, including a 27-year-old man from D.C. and three teens, were arrested in Alexandria in early July, but the FCPD is still looking to identify three other people in the same “crew.” Police believe the group is behind at least 15 ABC store robberies in Fairfax County since March 14, allegedly stealing “upwards” of $60,000 in alcohol.
The FCPD says it has identified three other groups that have been targeting ABC stores since the beginning of July, including locations in Bailey’s Crossroads, Fairfax Station, Huntington, Annandale, Tysons and Dunn Loring.
Police arrested a 26-year-old D.C. man on Aug. 2 who has been connected to a July 22 theft at the Leesburg Pike Plaza’s ABC store and a July 26 theft in Huntington. Two other unidentified individuals are wanted in those cases, according to the press release.
Another group consists of four men, none of whom have been identified, and police are also looking for a man who has allegedly committed four ABC store larcenies solo, most recently this past Tuesday (Aug. 13) in Dunn Loring.
Collectively, the ABC thefts in Fairfax County have resulted in the loss of $80,000 worth of alcohol that’s subsequently being illegally sold to individuals “on the streets,” according to Fried.
“These crews typically go into the ABC stores and they steal liquor,” he said. “Some of the suspects, they go into the back room of the stores and steal the high-end liquor that’s there, or they grab stuff that they can get easily so they can make a quick getaway and get out of the store.”
Virginia ABC Special Agent in Charge Barbara Storm says the agency has been implementing security changes at its stores in response to the thefts, including the addition of locks to limit access to stockrooms and camera “enhancements.”
The state authority’s law enforcement bureau is also rolling out a “shoplifting safety training program” for store leaders and employees.
“Our retail staff are being trained to gather usable suspect information and leads for law enforcement,” Storm said. “Virginia ABC values our partnership with Fairfax County and other regional law enforcement agencies in a continuing effort to deter and detect organized retail theft.”
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Retail theft on the rise, police say
The FCPD has recorded an increase in retail theft or shoplifting in recent years, from 5,799 cases in 2022 to 8,156 cases last year, per its 2023 annual report. There have been 5,679 retail theft cases so far this year, a department spokesperson told FFXnow.
As of 6 p.m. yesterday (Thursday), there have been 10,788 larcenies this year, a category that includes other types of property theft outside of retail cases according to the department’s crime mapping database.
Fairfax County isn’t alone in seeing an uptick in larcenies. According to FBI data, there were more than 4.3 million larcenies reported by police nationwide in 2022, a surge that followed a sharp decline in 2020 and especially 2021 during the early COVID-19 pandemic. However, rates remain well below the peak of 7.3 million seen in 1990.
At the press conference, Davis highlighted resources that the FCPD has devoted to retail theft, including the use of dedicated detectives and a team based out of the McLean District Police Station. The department made arrests in 77% of its retail theft cases last year, he said.
The police chief also thanked affected businesses for their assistance and expressed support for body cameras for retail workers. Axon, the company that provides tasers and body-worn cameras to law enforcement agencies, including the FCPD, began marketing a “personal safety camera” to retailers earlier this year, though Davis said he’s not aware of any businesses in Fairfax County using the devices.
“I do think it’s something that’s exciting,” Davis said. “…I do think it’s going to make a difference, not only with our ability to make arrests in a more timely manner, but the capacity for people to be held better accountable.”
During the press conference, Davis suggested other parts of the county’s criminal justice system need to “catch up” with the FCPD in cracking down on retail theft, criticizing the “low bonds” imposed by the courts in some cases.
“These folks are hitting the jail for a day or two before they attend a bond review hearing, and their bond is either eliminated or dramatically reduced and they’re back on the streets,” Davis said. “…This is the most often-committed crime here and elsewhere, and what we’re doing about it from a law enforcement perspective, I think, is consistent with the trends and patterns that we’re seeing. The other legs of the criminal justice stool, I would encourage to also take seriously these folks we’re bringing criminal charges against because there has to be a consequence associated with their criminal behaviors.”
Pre-trial bond decisions are determined by a magistrate or judge, though prosecutors and defense attorneys can recommend an individual’s detention or release at a bond hearing. In cases where the most serious charge is a non-violent felony, judges have ordered cash bail in 8% of cases, detention in 24% and release in 67%, according to data from the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office that covers the period from Jan. 3, 2022 through March 29 of this year.
The office didn’t return a request for comment by press time, but Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano has a policy barring prosecutors from requesting cash bonds.