Home Depot in Reston has been the target of several shoplifting incidents this summer, and Fairfax County police believe they’ve identified the culprits.
Over the past month, the Fairfax County Police Department has arrested and charged seven people allegedly belonging to an “organized retail theft crew” that stole over $20,000 in merchandise across multiple occasions from the home improvement store at 1651 Reston Parkway.
Police began connecting the incidents after officers responded to Home Depot for a shoplifting report at 4:51 p.m. on July 19. The store’s loss prevention team stated that “multiple suspects were in the store stealing merchandise.”
Upon arriving, officers encountered a 27-year-old man from Ashburn who was allegedly part of the group and arrested him.
Working with Home Depot’s asset protection specialists, Criminal Investigations Division detectives who took over the case were able to tie the man and six other individuals to other thefts at the same store dating back to June.
“Detectives learned the crew visited the store on over twenty different occasions and stole various tools,” the FCPD said yesterday (Wednesday) in a press release.
According to the release, police have now charged seven people, including one 17-year-old boy:
- A 24-year-old man of no fixed address was charged with 12 counts of petit larceny, eight counts of grand larceny, four counts of larceny with the intent to sell and conspiracy to commit organized retail theft. Arrested on July 31, he’s in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, awaiting a preliminary hearing on Oct. 28, per Fairfax County General District Court records.
- A 27-year-old Ashburn man was arrested on Aug. 3 and charged with four counts of grand larceny, three counts of petit larceny, and two counts of larceny with the intent to sell. He was released on a $6,500 bond and has a preliminary hearing on Oct. 21.
- An 18-year-old man with no fixed address was arrested on July 24 and charged with two counts each of petit and grand larceny, along with larceny with the intent to sell. Released on a $2,500 bond, he’s scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 27.
- A 30-year-old man from Herndon was charged with two counts each of petit and grand larceny. He arrested on July 31 and released on a $17,000 bond, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 30.
- A 23-year-old Herndon woman was arrested on Aug. 1 and released on a $1,000 bond. She faces a preliminary hearing on Oct. 29 for charges of grand larceny, larceny with the intent to sell and conspiracy to commit larceny.
- Arrested on July 31, a 39-year-old Herndon man was charged with four counts of grand larceny and two counts of larceny with the intent to sell. Currently in jail without bond, he has a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 23.
- A 17-year-old juvenile was charged with two counts of petit larceny.
FCPD leaders have made combating retail theft and shoplifting a priority, sharing plans with the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors earlier this year to expand increased enforcement efforts in Tysons to other parts of the county.
Police Chief Kevin Davis described shoplifting as the department’s “Achilles heel,” reporting that there were 9,615 cases countywide in 2024 — a 17.7% increase from the previous year.
