SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah, Nov. 17, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Three men and two juveniles have been arrested after allegedly stealing more than $11,000 in electronics from Walmarts in Saratoga Springs and South Jordan.
Desmion Hodo, 18, Myriel Edgar, 20, and Jaquan McElroy, 20, who are listed in Utah County court documents as being from Flint, Michigan, are facing charges of retail theft, a second-degree felony, retail theft, a third-degree felony and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a class B misdemeanor.
Hodo is also facing a charge of possessing a forgery writing/device, a third-degree felony.
The probable cause statement said an officer was dispatched Thursday to a fraud case at the Walmart in Saratoga Springs that was allegedly related to a case at the Walmart in American Fork, which was reported as a theft in progress.
“I made contact with the asset protection manager in Saratoga Springs for Walmart,” the statement said. “I obtained a witness statement from the manager. The statement advised five males had approached the electronics counter. Several high-priced sale transactions were made at the counter by the group of males. To conduct the transaction the males used a credit card/prepaid card. They instructed the cashier to enter the items’ amounts and hit the cash button on the register.”
After transactions were made the three men and two juveniles collected the items and left the store. The associate that conducted the transaction and asset manager observed the receipt showed cash tendered, however, Walmart had received no cash payment for the sales made.
Video footage was then provided of the transactions being made.
“I observed the males leaning over the counter looking at the register and the screen,” the arresting officer wrote in the statement. “After a card was swiped I saw the males then point over towards a direction away from them. I saw the sales associate either walk away or look away from the males. This occurred multiple times keeping the associate distracted from their main task.”
American Fork police located the males and detained them, the statement said, and a search warrant was obtained for the vehicle they were using. No thefts were actually made from the American Fork Walmart, officials said.
“A vehicle search yielded a large amount of various high-priced merchandise and electronics, including Hero GoPro video recorders, PS4 Pro PlayStation game consoles, Xbox One X game consoles, and several HP PC laptops,” the statement said.
Officers also located all the items that were allegedly acquired at the Saratoga Springs Walmart, including Apple watches, PS4 Pro PlayStations, and Apple iPad Airs. The total value of the thefts in that case was $2,700.
South Jordan police subsequently said the same males were at the Walmart in their area and used similar tactics to fraudulently purchase approximately $8,900 of items including multiple laptops, gaming consoles, GoPros and other items.
The three men were transported to Utah County Jail with their bail in each case set at $7,500.
