Millionaire Shoplifters @ Seaside

[SHELLY]

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A leading indicator of the economic slowdown? :cool:

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On March 12, women reported to be three wealthy business owners from Auburn, Ala., were apprehended by the Walton County Sheriff's Deputies after a Seaside retailer reported them stealing jewelry from her business earlier that day.

According to the complaint filed by Hooch and Holly's owner Candice Abuvala, deputies from the Walton County Sheriff's Office responded to her call reporting a theft of $2,795 worth of jewelry.

Abuvala told deputies three women entered her store and took jewelry from a display and replaced it with a much-less expensive decoy.
"The three women were well dressed and middle-aged," said Abuvala. "Two of the women kept us distracted while the third took the jewelry."
When the suspects left the store, manager Jennifer Black noticed the item missing and followed the women to the parking lot.

"When I saw them leave, I immediately noticed the stuff was missing," she said. "I walked outside and got the tag number of their Chevy Tahoe before they sped off."

The Sheriff's Office traced the tag and apprehended the women near the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort on Wednesday night.

Abuvela said she was told the women own multiple businesses near Auburn and have been stealing from Seaside shops and elsewhere for several years now.

"They have been hitting 10 businesses each year," she said. "They are apparently millionaires who own businesses such as farm supplies and retail shops." <Winona Ryder owns a farm supply business? :confused:>

[buster]

Soon to be labeled "gang activity".

[SHELLY]

Soon to be labeled "gang activity".

The story says they've been coming here for 'years' and hitting at least 10 businesses per year....so maybe it's some kind of a "Upscale Five-Finger Discount Tourist Package?" :idontno:


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[30A Skunkape]

And some thought crime here was limited to snowbirds stuffing Sweet and Low into their purses.

[Hop]

wow...:shock:

[Grayton Girl]

Incredible! I am so glad that these women were caught! Their names and photos need to be published, along with the story, both here and in their hometown. What a disgrace!

Where and when was this story reported? I totally missed seeing it in any of the local papers.

[ASH]

Originally reported in the Walton Sun. Sounds like it is an ongoing investigation so they aren't releasing any names yet. :shock:

[greenroomsurfer]

Are you people suprised? People steal everything that isn't bolted down around here, but they dang sure leave thier trash.:angry:

[tsutcli]

Are you people suprised? People steal everything that isn't bolted down around here, but they dang sure leave thier trash.:angry:
Amen!! My wife has worked in one of the galleries in Ruskin for the past four years and has personaly chased one thief down after Seaside security failed to respond to her call. Theft is a continuing problem that only gets worse. You would have thought that Seaide security would have advised the galleries after this incident but this is the first my wife had heard about it.

[Minnie]

Abuvela said she was told the women own multiple businesses near Auburn and have been stealing from Seaside shops and elsewhere for several years now.


Kinda gives new meaning to the phrase of going to market to shop for the store. :eek:

[ASH]

Are you people suprised? People steal everything that isn't bolted down around here, but they dang sure leave thier trash.:angry:

We need to bolt down the trash and trick the tourists into thinking that we really want to keep it all. :funn:

[Sandcastle]

You would have thought that Seaide security would have advised the galleries after this incident but this is the first my wife had heard about it.

Seaside security has more important things to do -- looking important and intimidating tourists using the private walkovers.:biggrin:

[ASH]

Haaaaaa.....Economy is tough right now and they have to justify their existence to the boss-hoss. :razz:

[sowalgayboi]

The story says they've been coming here for 'years' and hitting at least 10 businesses per year....so maybe it's some kind of a "Upscale Five-Finger Discount Tourist Package?" :idontno:


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Sounds to me like they are just bored with there lives and this is the only thrill they can get off on anymore. Pretty sad in my book.

[liquorqueen]

Hey Grayton Girl...where'd you get that cool picture of the smiling dog???

[DuneLaker]

This is surely a white collar crime area with millionaire shoplifters, medical fraud and real estate scams.

[mikecatadjuster]

I use to work in loss prevention and in a city like Destin for example that has a lot of people going into each store, I guarantee, I promise, that at least one thing is stolen every day. You would be amazed. And why is it not stopped? The big businesses look at it as a cost of doing business and passes on the costs to everyone else. They are also scared of being sued and even when the person is caught red handed, little is done and it is wise to just continue stealing. I watched groups of people steal who we knew were stealing 10's of thousands of dollars of goods a year and was instructed to do nothing. That was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life working that job. I was great at it though, catching more...well, I was good. It was just a frustrating job.