Alpharetta police have arrested a man from Dalton who they say has stolen from at least 30 Target stores across Georgia and Tennessee.

Joshua W. Hartley, 35, was arrested a week ago on June 14 and is facing multiple theft charges. He was released the same day from a Fulton County jail on a $9,500 bond.

Alpharetta police told Channel 2 Action News that stores should be keeping a close eye on shoppers and invest in security cameras because that is what helped them crack this case.

Police told Channel 2 that Hartley would go into Target stores, pick out items, and then take them to customer service as if he had bought them and asked for a refund. Target workers would oblige and give Hartley a refund in the form of a gift card.

Police saw video of him doing this at the Target on North Point Parkway where he received nearly $500 in store credit for rugs he had placed in his cart just moments before taking them to customer service.

Hartley has been doing this at Target stores since at least November 2016, police said. It’s unclear how much money he made in gift cards from doing this.

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