GILROY
– The covered baby stroller looked innocent enough to fool most
clerks at the Gilroy Premium Outlets, but little did they know it
was being filled with merchandise from their stores.
GILROY – The covered baby stroller looked innocent enough to fool most clerks at the Gilroy Premium Outlets, but little did they know it was being filled with merchandise from their stores.
Sherrell Marie Martin, 35, and Tania Lashawn Gray, 33, both of Oakland, allegedly stole $4,200 worth of clothing and housewares from at least eight different stores, including a store in Fremont. They might have gotten away with it if a clerk on her lunch break hadn’t seen them unloading the goods into a large sport-utility vehicle.
While hanging out by the parking lot, PacSun (Pacific Sunwear) clerk Diana Noble saw Martin and Gray make several trips in and out of stores with the stroller, going in with it empty and coming out with it bulging, she said. There was no baby in the stroller, she noticed. A man – later identified as Lavonce Block, 29, of Richmond – waited with the SUV the whole time.
Noble called city police, who arrived and arrested Martin, Gray and Block. At least one of them resisted officers in some way; police would not specify how.
Police found 118 pieces of merchandise in Martin, Gray and Block’s possession at the time of the arrest, worth about $4,200.
At least a third of these goods were not from Gilroy stores, according to one store manager. Forty pieces of clothing from The Raider Image – jackets, pants, shirts, hats and gloves worth $1,493, according to police – included items not carried at the Gilroy location, local Store Manager Erik Fields said. Rather, he said, the merchandise all appeared to be from The Raider Image’s Fremont store.
As of press time, Martin, Gray and Block were being held in county jail on burglary and conspiracy charges. The women also face charges of petty theft – raised from misdemeanors to felonies due to prior theft convictions – and Martin also faces a charge of resisting arrest.
It’s unknown whether Martin, Gray and/or Block committed similar thefts at the outlets in the past, but gangs from Oakland have been targeting the outlets for years, according to county Department of Corrections spokesman Mark Cursi.
“There’s a running scam that’s been going on for a long time,” Cursi said.
Gilroy Premium Outlets General Manager Jane Nuñez did not return phone calls Tuesday regarding shoplifting and security at the outdoor mall.
In addition to the Raider Image items, police found 78 pieces of merchandise worth about $2,700 – all believed to be stolen – in Martin, Gray and Block’s vehicle.
Among these were two red leather overcoats worth $697, which a manager at the Leather by Michael Lawrence outlet in Gilroy confirmed was from her store.
From PacSun, the alleged thieves had eight jackets, sweaters and pairs of jeans worth $336. These were from the Gilroy outlet, a PacSun corporate official confirmed.
From a store unnamed in the police report that might not be housed in the outlet mall, Martin, Gray and Block had 29 items emblazoned with the Playboy logo – boxer shorts, sweat pants, wall clocks, coasters and lollipops – worth a total of $424.
The other items, police believe, were stolen from Gilroy outlets.
From Mikasa, Martin, Gray and Block had $681 worth of table settings, including a $105 fruit bowl, two dinner plates worth $126, salt and pepper shakers worth $40 and place settings for 24 people.
From the Nike Factory Store, they had 20 pieces of Nike clothing worth $310.
From Reebok International, they had an Oakland Raiders jacket and hat worth $115.
They also had two toys worth $70 from the KB Toy Outlet.
Martin, Gray and Block are scheduled to appear in court this afternoon in San Martin. Martin’s bail is $10,500, Gray’s is $10,000, and Block’s is $5,000.
