On Friday, May 27th, 2022, detectives from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Directed Patrol Unit (DPU) teamed up with Keizer Police Department’s Community Response Unit and the loss prevention team at a local Target store to apprehend shoplifters. The focus on shoplifters was in response to concerns shared by several local businesses about an increase in theft, particularly from retail stores.
During the operation, detectives arrested seven people ranging in ages from 26 to 41 years-old. In addition to the shoplifting charges, two people had outstanding warrants including Assault and Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle. Over $1,000 in merchandise was recovered, the thefts included a wide array of products ranging from a shopping cart full of Tide laundry detergent to boxes of Pokeman cards. Each of the people arrested were taken to Marion County Jail:
- Cindy Ray (40): Theft in the Second Degree, Trespassing in the Second Degree
- Bradley Wolf (37): Theft in the Second Degree
- Hector Ramirez Chacon (34): Theft in the Third Degree, Warrant – Failure to Appear on a charge of Assault
- Rachel Sikes (29): Theft in the Third Degree, Warrant – Failure to Appear on a charge of Unlawful use of a Motor Vehicle
- Lindsey Blake (28): Theft in the Second Degree
- Miguel Rodrigues (26): Theft in the Second Degree
- Katherine Reyes (31): Theft in the Second Degree
Commander Jeff Stutrud said, “We understand how impactful theft is to our local business community, their employees, and our community members who have to pay higher prices to make up for these losses. Our team knows many thefts go unreported by businesses each year; we want to encourage our local businesses to invest the time it takes to report thefts so we can better understand how significant this issue is in Marion County. We are fortunate to have partnerships with local law enforcement agencies and our local businesses so we can work together to address this issue. Our goal is to bring some relief to local businesses by promoting accountability and to do our part to keep Marion County a safe and affordable place to live, work, and play.”
To increase convenience when reporting thefts and similar issues, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office added an online crime reporting service earlier this year. To learn more about online crime reporting visit https://www.co.marion.or.us/SO/Pages/OnlineReporting.aspx.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office Directed Patrol Unit will continue to partner with area law enforcement agencies to plan additional focused enforcement efforts to assist local retail businesses.
