Texas police arrest 9 suspects allegedly involved in 4 cases near suburban mall in shoplifting blitz operation

Police in Austin, Texas, arrested nine suspects allegedly involved in four theft cases at Target, Kohl’s and Lowe’s this week as part of a shoplifting blitz operation near the Lakeline Mall as holiday shopping gets underway.

In one case, four people were allegedly attempting to hide merchandise that was not paid for at Kohl’s inside an empty baby stroller. 

The suspects left the stroller behind when they were confronted by police outside the store but were quickly apprehended, the Austin Police Department said in a release. 

Police recovered around $1,100 in merchandise from the stroller and seized another $1,200 in stolen goods found in their vehicle.

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Melain Gomez, 20, Alexis Garza, 25, Jesus Jimenez-Gomez, 22, and Jessica Gomez, 23, were all charged with one count of engaging in organized criminal activity, a third-degree felony. 

In the second case, a "high-value repeat offender" identified as Javier Rios was arrested after he allegedly walked out of a Lowe’s in the area with a flatbed with an AC unit valued at $2,156 he allegedly didn’t pay for. 

Police also seized a $609 shower kit found inside his vehicle that he had allegedly stolen from another Lowe’s the same day. 

Rios was charged with theft and state jail felony. He also had two outstanding arrest warrants for larceny. 

"It definitely happens a lot more than people think," Molly McClanahan, assistant manager of clothing store Hemline Austin, told FOX 7 of shoplifting. "I think it happens a lot more at bigger stores where there is more space to kind of hide or more space to run." 

She said Hemline Austin limits the amount of items customers may try on in an attempt to prevent theft from dressing rooms. 

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In the third case, police arrested a man and woman in the parking lot of a Target store after the man, a repeat offender identified as Donovan Clausen, 23, allegedly fled the store with $614 in stolen merchandise after he was confronted by store employees. 

He met up with a woman, Christina Shell, 44, at his car, and police say they found $1,050 in stolen jewelry and beauty items from Target and Kohl’s inside, as well as narcotics. 

Clausen was charged with one count of theft and one count of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Shell was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

In the last case, another "high-value repeat offender" was caught after he allegedly fled in his vehicle with a woman. 

The man, Martin Morales, 54, had allegedly abandoned a cart full of unpaid items when he was confronted by Target employees as he left the store and fled to his car. 

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Morales was arrested for theft and state jail felony after he was stopped by police. Crystal Overby, who was allegedly driving the vehicle, had an active warrant for her arrest.