The NYPD has charged four men after being accused of stealing thousands of dollars from two Union County grocery stores.
Additionally, arrest warrants were issued for the four thieves who stole more than $5,500 worth of items from Giant in East Buffalo Township and Weis Markets in Kelly Township.
The following individuals face charges of felony retail theft: Homario L. Oldacre, 20, of Jamaica, New York; Malik F. McDonald, 20, of Bay Shore; and Cartier Hardy, 19, from Jamaica, New York. A fourth man, Marlon Joel Polanco, 19, of Bronx, New York, was recently identified by police as being involved in the Weis robbery.
Officials believe the suspects carried out retail robberies in at least five other Pennsylvania counties, according to Trooper Gary Heckman of the Buffalo Valley Regional Police Department.
Heckman was called to Giant after the four suspects were found entering the store on May 18 and allegedly stealing $3,529 in over-the-counter medications, including allergy and pain medications.
In a video you can see how the four arrived at Giant at night in a gray Nissan sedan. An unidentified suspect exited the vehicle first and entered the store through the south entrance. Minutes later, Hardy, McDonald and Oldacre entered the store and went directly to the aisles of the pharmacy.
For about 12 minutes, Oldcare and the others took over-the-counter medications off the shelves and hid them inside their jackets. The subjects left the store before 7:30 p.m., according to Heckman.
The trooper began his inquiries and found that the suspects were persons of interest linked to similar store robberies in York, Lancaster, Berks, Dauphin and Cumberland counties.
State Police in Milton received a report days after subjects allegedly robbed items valued at $2,000 from Weis Markets in Kelly Township, WKOK reported.
Kyle Drick met with the asset protection officer, who discovered that the criminals had entered the store shortly after 7:30 p.m. on May 18 and had hidden the items in their jackets, the robbers subsequently fled. They fled in the gray Nissan sedan, the affidavit says.
Asset protection officers at the two grocery stores notified police that the suspects had been involved in several other retail theft incidents. They gave authorities a package of photos taken by security cameras in the other stores.
Officials noticed that the robbers were wearing the same jackets when they carried out other retail robberies in the state. Additionally, police concluded that the individuals used rental vehicles.
The suspects are believed to have been shoplifting since February from Giant and Weis stores throughout New York state, according to the affidavit.
Oldacre, Hardy and Cartier were charged by District Judge Jeffrey A. Rowe’s office in Lewisburg.
On June 11, authorities were able to link Polanco to the Weis Markets robbery after an investigator from Baltimore County, Maryland, contacted officers.
The detective told state police he had obtained security camera footage of similar events in Maryland and suspected Polanco and the others were involved in the Union County robberies.
Police said there are numerous arrest warrants for the suspects.
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