VENTURA : Store Clerk, 4 Others Arrested in Theft
Ventura police have arrested a Thrifty drugstore clerk and four other people on suspicion of stealing large quantities of merchandise from the store over the past several months.
Police made the arrests Nov. 2 after a couple scavenging in the store’s dumpster at 2378 E. Thompson Blvd. reported a group of juveniles making repeated trips out of the store with beer and other merchandise not in bags.
When officers arrived, they confronted three juveniles, ages 16 and 17, and 22-year-old Chris Torrence of Ventura in the parking lot. Police said they found $2,100 worth of goods divided between two cars driven by the juveniles and Torrence.
Authorities said one of the juveniles then confessed to officers that they had stolen the merchandise--ranging from cat food to blenders and cosmetics--with the help of on-duty clerk Erin McKinney.
McKinney, 28, and Torrence were arrested on suspicion of burglary and later released on bail from Ventura County Jail. The juveniles, all of Oxnard, were taken to juvenile hall.
Police said they also found a stolen credit card inside McKinney’s purse.
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