(Updated at 6:20 p.m.) Three people were arrested earlier this week for stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise from Tysons Corner Center businesses, police say.
At 9:09 p.m. on Tuesday (Sept. 19), a worker at Sunglass Hut in the mall reported that the store had just been robbed, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Using the mall’s surveillance cameras, detectives with the department’s Tysons Urban Team unit determined that there were three suspects and they were still inside. One man and two women — all New York residents — were located and arrested.
“Approximately $15,000 worth of stolen merchandise was recovered,” the FCPD announced yesterday (Wednesday). “The stolen merchandise was found to belong to several businesses inside Tysons Corner Center to include Express, H&M, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret, American Eagle, Guess, and Sunglass Hut.”
The 20-year-old man has been charged with two counts of grand larceny, petit larceny, larceny with intent to sell , and conspiracy to commit larceny, according to the police department. When not committed against a person, Virginia defines grand larceny as thefts of $1,000 or more.
The two women, who are aged 19 and 20, have been been charged with two counts of grand larceny, larceny with intent to sell, and conspiracy to commit larceny.
All three individuals are being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on no bond, police said.
The arrests came just days after the FCPD reported late last week that its detectives had “busted” three other people — also identified as New York residents — for allegedly attempting to use a stolen credit card to buy $21,000 worth of merchandise from Louis Vuitton in Tysons Galleria.
As part of a summer crime prevention initiative, the police department cracked down on retail theft in June, which it said resulted in a drop in cases countywide that month. Incidents at Tysons Corner Center have continued to decline from 103 in May to 62 so far in September, according to FCPD data.
“Since the Summer Crime Prevention Initiative in June, we have seen a decrease in shoplifting incidents at 1961 Chain Bridge Road,” the department told FFXnow. “We recognize that shoplifting tends to increase in the fall toward the holiday season and will take steps to address this trend.”