Tulsa Shoplifter Utilizes Trend To Avoid Serious Charges

Tulsa Police are looking for a shoplifter who is part of what they believe is a real trend.

Shoplifters are limiting what they take to avoid more serious charges if they're caught.

The Home Depot at 91st and Delaware is one of the latest but not anywhere near the only victim of what's now "petty larceny."

When a man came out of the garden center with a cart and a couple of chainsaws and a line trimmer, the dollar amount of the heist was just under what would be considered a felony crime.

Tulsa Police say most shoplifters are careful to not steal anything over $1,000 at a time.

“I'm only going to get in trouble for a misdemeanor and that's only if they figure out who I am and if I get caught, it's one of those things where they've figured out the loophole,” said Tulsa Police Captain Billy White. 

Last Tuesday afternoon, a customer's Dashcam caught a who man lost control of his cart for a moment while he tried to get the goods in the backseat of the car.

The driver sped off and only then did a few other customers realize what was happening.

“I always tell people just try to be a good witness. Try to remember what they were driving and if you get a tag number that's great, everybody has cell phones with a recorder in their pocket, so that can help, but do it from a safe distance, it's just not worth getting in trouble for,” said Captain White. 

In this case, the shoplifter took off through the Garden Center, simply loaded up the loot, and took off, leaving the store with a loss that costs everyone else.

“Ultimately, it's us that ends up paying more, we all pay more because of that,” said White.