Couple Charged With Stealing From Store While Thief Robs Their Car
In Ogden, Utah, a couple who allegedly tried to shoplift cotton swabs and a few other items got arrested and then found out a thief was burglarizing their car at the same time.
Police said Eldon Alexander, 36, and girlfriend Korin Vanhouten, 47, took small items such as makeup, cotton swabs and power bars from a WinCo Foods store and attempted to walk out without paying. Store security caught the accused shoplifters on tape with closed-circuit cameras and called the police.
Alexander and Vanhouten were cited with misdemeanor for theft, and the police officer on duty allowed them to leave.
But when they arrived at their car Alexander and Vanhouten noticed they were missing their car stereo, an amplifier, a drum machine and cigarettes. They asked police to file a robbery report. Ironically, the same surveillance system that caught the couple's alleged attempt to shoplift also caught footage of the perpetrator who broke into their car while they were in the store.
Eric Young, lieutenant at Ogden Police Department, said the images of the robbery were not clear enough to give police many clues about the burglar's identity, but detectives have the footage and the case is still under investigation.
Young estimated the total value of the merchandise Alexander and Vanhouten attempted to steal at less than $50, much less than the $150 value of the items stolen from their vehicle.