By Ann Zaniewski
Detroit Free Press
Talk about terrible timing.
Two women were caught allegedly stealing $1,900 worth of electronics from a Bloomfield Township Target on the same day the store was packed with police for a Shop with a Cop event.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Bloomfield Township Police Sgt. Dan Brown said.
About 15 police officers from four departments — Sylvan Lake, Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake and Bloomfield Township — were at the Target at 2400 Telegraph Wednesday night, helping 22 disadvantaged children pick out Christmas presents for their families.
Keiana Wilson, 40, of Burton and Dana Johnson, 18 of Flint were also there.
Brown said store loss prevention officers watched on cameras as the women loaded a cart with two Apple watches, two iPads and a Nintendo gaming system. At about 7:30 p.m., they walked past the registers without paying.
They never made it to the parking lot.
“The loss prevention (officers) actually apprehended them, then they asked for police assistance,” said Sylvan Lake Police Sgt. Michael Mondeau, who organized the Shop with a Cop event. “The police officers were only about 20 feet away when they tried to walk out of the store.”
The women knew there were police around. Brown said Johnson approached an officer earlier in the night, complimenting him about “how generous the cops were with their time.”
“It wasn’t 10 minutes later that (the same officer) gets called into the loss prevention office,” where the women were taken after being caught, Brown said. “She was trying to distract him.”
Wilson and Johnson were arraigned in 48th District Court on retail fraud charges. Brown said bond was set at $250,000 for Johnson, who has a past criminal history. Wilson’s bond was set at $20,000, with the option to post 10%.
Both Wilson and Johnson have requested court-appointed attorneys. They are due back in court Jan. 3.
Mondeau said the children who participated in Shop with a Cop were able to spend in total about $5,000 on their gifts, thanks to donations from local businesses and community members.
The Keego Harbor Police Department posted a picture of the police officers and their family members who participated on Facebook. The caption included words of thanks for the people involved, and the store.
It also said:
“On a side note, there must have been a special episode of ‘Dumb Criminal Minds’ being filmed live as a person tried to shoplift a bunch of electronics right in front of about 10 cops. They didn’t get far. DON’T TAKE WHAT IS NOT YOURS, it’s a simple rule that everyone should abide by and the world would be a better place.”
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