Alexandria CVS stores ransacked of cosmetics and suspect gets busted in Maryland

A Hyattsville man suspected of stealing thousands worth of cosmetic items from multiple CVS stores in Alexandria was arrested with two others in Maryland earlier this month.

The three Maryland men are suspected of stealing more than $100,000 in merchandise from Target and other stores throughout the region and were arrested on April 19 by a deputy from the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office. They were charged with grand larceny, possession of stolen goods with the intent to sell and conspiracy to commit retail theft of more than $50,000 in five days.

“Amazing work to the quick acting deputies to prevent further retail larcenies in not only Stafford, but the DMV area,” the Stafford Sheriff’s Office said in a release.

In Alexandria, there were at least six incidents at six different CVS stores during February and March, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit. The incidents are all similar — two Black males wearing ski or surgical masks walk into the store and then place items in the cosmetic section into large bags, then walk out the store and into a car that’s waiting with the engine running.

Thefts were reported at the following CVS stores:

• 1462 N. Beauregard Street, Feb. 24 — The suspects were seen fleeing in a blue Subaru Crosstrek with Maryland plates
• 5101 Duke Street, Feb. 24 — The suspects were seen fleeing in the blue Subaru
• 3120 Duke Street, Feb. 29 — The suspects were seen fleeing in the blue Subaru
• 4515 Duke Street, Feb. 29 — The suspects were seen fleeing in the blue Subaru
• 2601 Richmond Highway, March 4 — No suspect vehicle seen
• 501 King Street, March 8 — The suspects were seen fleeing in a black Hyundai with Maryland plates
• 433 S. Washington Street, March 8 — The suspects were seen fleeing in a black Hyundai

On March 8, the manager of the CVS at 433 S. Washington Street in Old Town told police that the three suspects walked in wearing black clothing, and black ski masks or surgical masks, according to the search warrant affidavit. The manager said the suspects placed cosmetic items in large bags and that they walked out of the store and into an awaiting vehicle.

The black Hyundai with Maryland license plates fled southbound, and during their investigation police received a license plate reader alert, “showing a stolen black Hyundai Elantra with Maryland tags in the area of Braddock Road and Mount Vernon Avenue,” police said in the search warrant affidavit.

Police located the stolen Hyundai near the CVS on S. Washington Street and were involved in a brief chase, but lost sight of the suspects when they crossed from the city into Fairfax County by driving onto the George Washington Memorial Parkway.

“(T)he vehicle operated by an unknown driver fled from them at a high rate of speed from S. Washington Street southbound towards Fairfax County,” police said in the search warrant affidavit. “APD officers attempted to deploy a global positioning systems device on the fleeing vehicle before losing sight of (it) southbound on the George Washington Parkway.”

The Hyundai was recovered in Hyattsville near on March 9 by the Prince George’s County Police Department. It was released to its owner, according to the search warrant affidavit.

Another car was also seen fleeing the scene of multiple incidents in February — a blue Subaru Crosstrek with a Maryland license plate. Police contacted the owner of the license plate, who said it stolen from his daughter’s car.

The Bowie Police Department also found that there was a similar theft from a CVS store on Feb. 21, with two Black males allegedly stealing cosmetics and fleeing in a blue Subaru, according to the search warrant affidavit.

On March 12, CVS’s regional investigation officer provided APD with two internal case files identifying one of the suspects that was arrested in Stafford County on April 18. APD determined that the Hyattsville suspect lived on the same street from where the stolen Hyundai was recovered. Additionally, a video camera captured the stolen Subaru driving along that same street, according to the search warrant affidavit.

No charges have been made in the Alexandria incidents.

The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office put out a press release after making the arrests:

On April 18th at approximately 11:45 a.m. deputies responded to Target, located at 1090 Stafford Market Place, for a larceny in progress. Staff advised a group of males, who they had seen stealing before, were currently concealing skin care items into a large bin. As deputies arrived, the suspects fled out a fire exit with the stolen items.

Due to law enforcement agencies having stronger communication skills than a teenage couple, deputies were already well aware of this group. It was reported they were involved in an organized retail theft ring that involved numerous Target stores stretching all the way to Maryland. It was also reported these three musketeers traveled in a black Nissan Rogue with a Maryland license plate. With this information, it did not take Deputy J.E. Alford long to locate the Nissan with all three suspects inside at the traffic light for Stafford Market Place and Garrisonville Road. A high-risk stop was conducted and all three were taken into custody without incident. Not surprisingly, stolen Target items were located within the vehicle.

…All three were charged with four counts of grand larceny, two counts of possession of stolen goods with intent to sell, and conspiracy to commit retail theft greater than $5,000 within 90 days. All three were held at Rappahannock Regional Jail without bond. The investigation is still ongoing.