GPS Tracking Device in Jeans Nabbed Shoplifters
16 Aug 2016GPS tracking technology is changing the way the world works in so many ways, and now it is being used to nab shoplifters. Most recently, the technology was used by Pasco County deputies to track down three Tampa women who allegedly stole more than $1,500 in clothing. The trio shoplifted the goods from the Saks Off Fifth store at the Tampa Premium Outlets.
Unknown by the shoplifters, tucked inside a pair of the jeans they stole was an anti-theft GPS tracking device. When they left the store with the GPS-outfitted jeans, the device was immediately activated and started tracking their location.
A video from a surveillance camera in the store showed the three women placing piles of jeans into a “booster bag”, a bag that was intended to get them past the security sensors. The physical descriptions of the women, which were displayed on the footage from the video surveillance camera, coupled with the location information provided by the GPS tracking technology, made it possible for the Pasco County deputies to quickly locate and arrest the thieves.
The three women arrested were Toccara Marlesha, Ayanna Michelle Palacio and Sharhonda LaShawn Pedroso. The GPS tracking technology attached to one of the stolen pair of jeans, which allowed the Saks Off Fifth employees to located the trio by the minute, enabled the police to find them in a car, which was located at the intersection of State Road 52 and US 41.
The deputy’s’ body camera videos captured the arrest. The thieves claimed they had done nothing wrong, but one of the officers informed them that a pair of the jeans they stole was outfitted with GPS tracking technology, which proved they had, indeed, committed the crime. The three were arrested and are being charged with several felonies.
Though GPS tracking technology isn’t currently on every single item in the Saks Off Fifth store, it was on the stolen jeans that helped employees and the police pinpoint the location of the three women. According to the police, Saks Off Fifth wasn’t the only store they stole from; Hollister, PacSun and several other retailers were also robbed by the trio.
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