Two Michigan women who allegedly tried to shoplift from a Target store packed with police officers for the store’s “Shop with a Cop” event on Wednesday found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Authorities arrested Keiana Wilson, 40, of Burton, and Dana Johnson, 18, of Flint, and charged them with felony retail fraud for allegedly attempting to steal $1,900 in electronic goods from a Bloomfield Township Target store.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Bloomfield Township Police Sgt. Dan Brown said.
Several area police departments—including the police departments of Bloomfield Township, Sylvan Lake, Keego Harbor, and Orchard Lake—hosted a “Shop with a Cop” event at the store Wednesday evening to help disadvantaged children shop for family members.
But not everyone at the store was taking part in the festivities. Store security officers spotted Wilson and Johnson allegedly loading a cart filled with $1,900 worth of electronic goods, the Detroit Free Press reported.
The two women allegedly made it out of the store with a shopping cart full of items they did not pay for, but it did not take long for officials to apprehend them.
“The loss prevention (officers) actually apprehended them, then they asked for police assistance,” Sylvan Lake Police Sgt. Michael Mondeau said. “The police officers were only about 20 feet away when they tried to walk out of the store.”
Both women were taken into custody and arraigned on the charges. A judge set bond for Johnson at $250,000 and Wilson at $20,000.