Bridgeport Village lingerie heist victim says ‘professional’ shoplifters also …
December 4, 2014 by admin
Filed under Latest Lingerie News
The owner of the Bridgeport Village lingerie store where shoplifters made off with thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise believes the same people are responsible for countless other thefts in and around the metro area.
Carolyn Boyd, owner of Posh Lingerie, said she’s fielded calls from other retailers who recognize the five people caught on her store’s security camera and believe them to be serial shoplifters who have targeted stores from Washington Square to the Woodburn Premium Outlets.
“They knew what they were doing,” Boyd said.
As police work to catch the shoplifters, The Oregonian set out to answer a few more questions about the heist.
Q. Police originally estimated $2,400 worth of lingerie had been stolen, but Boyd said it’s closer to $3,000. How much underwear does that add up to?
A. The biggest ticket item was the store’s most expensive robe, a silk and velvet number valued at $1,600. The thieves also took several blankets and about a dozen pairs of pajamas. No bras or underwear were stolen.
Q. A couple of days after the theft, most of the stolen goods turned up at the Bridgeport Village Crate Barrel. How did that happen?
A. Most likely, one of the shoplifters or an accomplice dropped them off. Soon after news of the crime began appearing in local media, someone approached Crate Barrel staff and handed over the stolen items. The person claimed the merchandise was found behind a Dumpster, but Boyd is skeptical.
“If the tags said ‘Posh,’ wouldn’t you return them to Posh?” she said. “My thought is they didn’t want to return it to us, because they knew we would recognize them.”
Q. Can the returned clothes be resold?
A. Yes. “Luckily, everything was in great shape with the tags still on,” Boyd said. The exception: One lingerie set was missing a pair of panties.
Q. How did the thieves pull it off?
A. They waited until the end of the day. Boyd had gone home, leaving one employee in the store to help customers and work the register. While two of the shoplifters asked the store employee for help, the other three stuffed merchandise into empty shopping bags from a nearby store. “They knew what they were doing,” she said.
Q. Do police have any leads on the suspects?
A. No arrests have been made, but Tualatin police have “some investigative leads,” said Jennifer Massey, a spokeswoman for the department. Boyd said she’s fielded a steady stream of tips. Among them, two apartment complex landlords told Boyd the thieves used to live in their complex, but were kicked out after attempting to sell stolen goods from their unit.
Q. If the suspects are caught, what charges will they face?
A. Massey said the high-value items could result in felony theft charges.
Q. Who steals from a lingerie store, anyway?
A. You wouldn’t think it would be a “hot ticket item to steal,” Boyd said, but this is the second time in the past year she’s been hit with a major theft. Last year, shoplifters stole $1,100 worth of merchandise. The culprits were never caught.
–Kelly House
