Take the amount spent during a typical Kroger shopping trip, triple it, and that figure still would not come close to the amount police said a crew recently stole from two Atlanta locations.
Three men made off with nearly $5,000 worth of merchandise during a June 8 trip to the Kroger on Caroline Street in the Edgewood retail district, according to Atlanta police. They allegedly pulled off an even bigger heist worth $7,000 two days before at another Kroger on Glenwood Avenue.
The stolen merchandise included soap, deodorant, meat, beer and household items, police said in a lookout posted to Facebook.
During the Edgewood incident, the men are accused of loading up their carts, exiting the rear doors of the store and leaving in a black Dodge Charger. Investigators do not know the vehicle’s tag information.
It took the men about an hour from the time they entered the store at 10:35 p.m. to the time they left, according to an incident report obtained by AJC.com. Store employees did not notice the merchandise was stolen until they were taking inventory that night.
The suspects in the Glenwood Avenue theft also left in a black Dodge Charger, according to a separate police report. Two men were seen on store surveillance cameras leaving an emergency door on the side of the building with shopping carts loaded down, police said.
A Kroger security employee told police the men appeared to enter the store at separate times, with a younger man grabbing items from the shelves and an older man acting as a lookout.
“The older male would exit the store first and position the getaway vehicle at the exit point where the younger male would exit the store,” police said in the Glenwood Avenue report. “The younger male would exit the store with the items and they would flee the scene.”
The employee said the same men may be involved in other shoplifting incidents at Kroger locations in the Wesley Chapel area of DeKalb County, according to the report.
Police have released surveillance photos of the three suspects, one of whom is an older, balding man with a gray beard. Another is shown riding a motorized shopping cart. None have been identified.
Anyone who recognizes the men or has information about the shoplifting incidents is asked to contact Atlanta police. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
In other news:
About the Author
