Two Vancouver residents accused of stealing more than $15,000 from local Safeway stores since February made first appearances in Clark County Superior Court on Wednesday.
Alicia F. Brown, 26, and Jacob A. Beatty, 33, face allegations of first-degree organized retail theft, 10 counts of trafficking in known stolen property, first-degree theft and first-degree possession of stolen property.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court, investigators with the Northwest Organized Retail Crime Alliance met in February after noticing a large amount of Similac infant formula and personal care items being sold for prices substantially lower than retail value through online store fronts, such as OfferUp. Private investigator Christopher Frazier found a posting for the formula and shaving razors on OfferUp being sold by an individual who went by the name Alicia.
On Feb. 26, Frazier reached out to Alicia. He requested to purchase 10 large canisters of the formula being advertised for $9 each. The canisters retail at $30, court records said. Alicia responded to Frazier the following day and provided a phone number.
Beatty and Brown reportedly met with Frazier at Wal-Mart, 221E N.E. 104th Ave. in Vancouver, and sold him new-in-box merchandise valued at $688.54 in exchange for $300. Investigators positively identified the merchandise as being stolen based on surveillance video, incident reports and anti-theft stamps and markings, according to the affidavit.
On Feb. 27, an investigator with Safeway documented an incident in which Brown entered a Safeway store at 13719 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver and allegedly stole $43.97 worth of merchandise. The next day, Brown and Beatty reportedly entered another Safeway store at 6711 N.E. 63rd St. in the Minnehaha neighborhood and allegedly stole $185.96 worth of merchandise. They were not detained by store security at the time, court documents said.
The suspects later met with Frazier at another location and reportedly sold him the stolen merchandise. This pattern of stealing merchandise from Safeway stores across Clark County and then selling the merchandise to Frazier went on until about June 7, the affidavit says. In total, Brown allegedly stole $7,935.52 worth of merchandise from Safeway. Beatty allegedly stole $7,358.73 worth of merchandise.
During their first appearances on Wednesday, Judge Gregory Gonzales appointed each an attorney.
Brown and Beatty are being held at the Clark County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail each. The two are scheduled to be arraigned July 1.
