Increase in organized retail theft crews targeting Tysons mall
Within just one week, Fairfax County police have busted two organized retail theft crews and said they are cracking down on these types of crimes.
On Saturday, two people who police said were part of an out-of-state organized retail theft crew were arrested at Tysons Corner Center. Fairfax County police Capt. Brad Libby said the crew first hit the Fair Oaks Mall and was on a four-month stealing spree, racking up over $27,000 worth of merchandise.
“Tysons Corner is the second largest mall in America. So along with that comes a lot of attention,” Libby said. “Which is one of the reasons why we’ve put a great team of detectives out there to stop these types of crimes from happening and to discourage future crimes from happening as well.”
Just last week, Fairfax County police said they arrested a separate, three-man retail theft crew that stole $24,000 worth of items, most of which were underwear. Libby said police are seeing an increase in these crimes and are assigning more officers to the area.
“We have a fully staffed Tysons Urban Team, which are detectives that are assigned to that urban area. We’re also currently staffing other urban areas in the county,” he said.
During Saturday’s arrest, two people were arrested — Oscar William Laverde, 56, of New York, and Sindia Noguera, 43, of New Jersey — but the last member got away and police said they are now looking for 45-year-old Claudia Suarez, of New York.
Anyone with information about these thefts should call the Tysons Urban Team at 703-556-7750 or by submitting tips online or via the P3 Tips app.