NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A woman and two men from Jacksonville capped a Christmas Eve theft spree in Nassau County with a deputy chase that ended with their arrest, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.
News4JAX is not naming the trio because of the nature of the charges.
A 20-year-old woman who was serving as the getaway driver, according to arrest reports, told deputies she waited outside the Winn Dixie on Lofton Square Court while the men -- ages 19 and 23 -- went inside and came back with two trays of ribs, a rotisserie chicken and boxes of diapers.
According to the arrest report, deputies believe the items were stolen but weren’t able to confirm right away because the store had been closed for the Christmas holidays.
After the Winn-Dixie, the woman told deputies she drove them in a red 2022 Hyundai Sonata to the Home Depot on State Road 200 in the Villages of Amelia Shopping Center in Yulee.
She said after about 15-20 minutes, the men came out of the store carrying two Ring Smart Lighting Systems, two Ring Smart Lighting Ring Bridge Systems, one Wyze Outdoor Camera, one Swann Extra Security Camera with light, one Swann Extra Security Camera without light, and three Amazon Echo Dots, the report said.
The woman then said the men went into the nearby Ulta Beauty store, and according to the arrest report, while inside, they filled a shopping basket with over $1,700 in boxes of cologne and walked out without paying.
Someone at the Ulta reported the theft and followed the red Sonata, helping deputies know where to find it, the report said.
“Well, it’s sad that some people have to steal for a living. And we, hopefully, by catching these individuals, that they’ll get the message not to come to Nassau County and steal stuff. But we do find those from other counties coming up here. And so thankfully, we worked with our citizens that witnessed this,” Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said.
A deputy caught up to the Sonata on Pages Dairy Road and pulled it over, but when he got out, the driver sped off. The deputy pursued for a bit, but the car was eventually found by other deputies stopped at the intersection of State Road 200 and Christian Way.
The woman and two men were taken into custody and the items were found in the trunk and inside the car, deputies said.
The woman was charged with theft and fleeing and eluding police. The men were charged with theft.
Industry leaders say there has been a significant increase in organized retail crimes over the last few years. The Buy Safe America Coalition found last month that two-thirds of loss-prevention workers say retail theft has gotten worse since March of last year, when the pandemic began.
“We have seen an increase in retail theft, particularly over the holidays. And since the pandemic has come about, seems like there are groups of people that traveled to different counties, and go into these large retail stores to steal stuff. And it is an issue,” Leeper said.
Locally, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office conducted “Operation Bad Santa,” in which 16 arrests were made after a series of outlet stores were hit.
There’s actually a bipartisan bill working its way through Congress called the “INFORM Consumers Act” that would make it much more difficult for retail thieves to sell their stolen goods online. The bill is being co-sponsored by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia.