By SINA MATTHES
Three stores at the University Mall have been hit by shoplifters who have stolen large amounts of clothing.
Orem Police reported that in the last two weeks, The Closet, JMR and J. Riggins were all victimized by shoplifters. Lt. Bob Conner said July 21 The Closet reported 55 pairs of jeans had been stolen from its store.
Sales associates at The Closet could not comment on the thefts, and a manager could not be reached for comment.
“They probably scoped out the store beforehand,” said K.C. Wabel, store manager of J. Riggins.
According to Wabel, a man came into J. Riggins around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. He asked her to show him two different shirts at one end of the store. Wabel believes the thefts occurred while she helped him and while her assistant was distracted with another customer.
Fifty shirts valued at $39.50 each were taken from the J. Riggins store. Wabel began to be suspicious when the man left the store in a suspicious manner. A few minutes later Wabel discovered what had happened.
“Another person would have had to have done it (the shoplifting) is what I guessed,” Wabel said. She suspects the shirts were stolen to be resold somewhere else.
JMR, near J. Riggins, also suffered a large loss of merchandise Saturday. Fourteen pairs of jeans were stolen from JMR with an estimated total value of $1,200.
“A group of guys will come in, and one person will distract a sales person and one will snag a stack of jeans,” said Shane Miyasaki, assistant manager of JMR.
Miyasaki said sales associates at his store did not notice a group of people entering the store in a suspicious manner, but he suspects the thieves used the same tactics as the thieves at J. Riggins.
JMR has not had a problem with large amounts of clothing being shoplifted at one time, but as a result of Saturday’s theft, store officials plan to increase security, Miyasaki said.
“It’s unfortunate that people do that, but I think it’s better to have one more person here than to suffer that kind of a loss again,” Miyasaki said.
Golden Swirl was also a victim of theft Saturday. Manager Kristy Sine said sometime Saturday evening an undisclosed amount of cash was stolen from the cash register. She said she does not know if the thefts at the clothing store are connected with Golden Swirls loss, but said she hopes the thieves are caught.
Orem Police do not have any suspects but are investigating the reported thefts.
Wabel said she was frustrated by the thefts but offered advice to other stores in the area.
“Extra customer service is a good deterrent,” she said.
