Target dealing with bold shoplifter

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

He doesn't own the Target. He just acts like it.

Four times since June, a brazen shoplifter has struck the same Target on  Jonesboro Road in McDonough. Each time, he grabs valuable merchandise and walks out without paying.

The one time he was confronted, he didn't back down. He pulled a baton and threatened the store's loss prevention officer.

"Most shoplifters, when confronted, will drop the stolen items and try to get away as quickly as possible," Henry County Police Capt. Jason Bolton said.

The latest theft came Dec. 29, when the suspect wheeled out two vacuum cleaners worth $549 apiece. He drove away in a small red or maroon vehicle. In the other  cases, the suspect drove away in a blue Ford Freestar van.

On June 12, police say, he stole two Blue-Ray disc players worth $600. On Aug. 21, he stole GPS devices worth $640.

On Sept. 30, he was leaving with stolen merchandise when an employee approached him.

"When this suspect was confronted by loss prevention, he pulled out an ASP baton and threatened the employee with it, and then took the stolen items by force," Bolton said. "By doing that he changed it from a simple case of shoplifting to an armed robbery."

Police believe he's also responsible for other Target thefts in the Atlanta area.

Anyone with information is urged to call Henry County police at 770-288-8262.