CLOVER, S.C. — A New York man and a New Jersey woman are in jail in York County, charged in what police think is a far-reaching crime spree that targeted CVS drug stores.
Damon Ellis, 41, and Courtney Rivera, 29, were stopped pushing a baby stroller out of the Clover CVS store on Saturday.
They told police there was a sick baby in the stroller which was covered with a blanket. Instead, police found more than $900 worth of stolen hygiene products.
The manager became suspicious when she saw the couple push a stroller into a bathroom, and take some bags with them. Police said when they came out, the bags were empty.
Police searched the couple's Dodge Caravan that was rented in New Jersey and discovered about $5,700 in items stolen from other CVS stores.
Police used packaging labels to trace the items to CVS stores in Denver, Mooresville, Charlotte, Gastonia, Lincolnton, Davidson and Clover.
In some cases they were from more than one store per city.
They found mostly men's razors, Rogaine for men and women, weight loss products, and some antacid.
Police told Channel 9 those products are often sold to a fence, and end up at flea markets, or are sold online.
Somehow, the couple had the master keys that unlocked theft-proof cabinets in multiple stores, as well as keys that open cash registers.
Police aren't sure yet if either Ellis or Rivera once worked at a CVS store, or just knew someone who did.
Clover Police Capt. David Dover showed Channel 9 the unusual bags he said the couple hid the items in.
They're made of tin foil and decorative duct tape that can hide shoplifted items from in-store theft detectors, so they don't trigger an alert.
"What this bag does is it prohibits the theft devices that sit at your entry/exits, those two towers? It keeps it from triggering those devices," Dover said.
Police believe Ellis and Rivera are a small part of a much bigger theft ring that could be targeting drug stores along the East Coast.
"This stuff would be very popular on the black market," Dover said. "We may not have apprehended the big guy in this thing, but we've put a small dent into a bigger picture."
Clover police are still trying to figure out how many CVS stores were hit in total, and contacting the ones they know about.
The corporate office for CVS did not respond to Channel 9's request for more information on Monday.
WSOC
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
