Caught On Camera: Security Video Captures Suspected Serial Thief Returning Stolen Items

A suspected serial thief in the Tulsa area has been caught on camera recently taking items from businesses, but now she is doing something surprising. Tulsa Police are investigating after several salons were targeted.

After News On 6 ran a story showing surveillance of the theft last weekend, salon owners said they believe the same woman returned some of the items, however, police said that does not erase the crime.

Salon owners told News On 6 that the same woman on the same day at almost the exact same time was returning the items in a trash bag that she stole last week.

"I was baffled, you know, I was really baffled,” Stacy Carpio said.

Carpio manages the Phenix Salon Suites in Tulsa near 41st and Yale and owns her own business in the suites. She said she is shocked by the whole situation, watching the footage both the first and second time.

"That made me feel good that you know something good came out of the bad story,” Carpio said.

LT Billy White with the Tulsa Police Riverside Investigations Unit said they are actively investigating after several area salons have been hit but said it takes time.

"They've now kind of found a weakness in salons for example and now they're trying to exploit it,” LT White said.

LT White said seeing items returned isn't very common but said it's not unheard of. He told News On 6 that once the video gets leaked on social media and the suspect realizes they can not get away with it then sometimes they will act out of desperation.

He said it is also important to be careful when shopping online because a lot of times a thief will resale the product online for a much lower price.

"OfferUp, Letgo, Facebook Marketplace. I mean these are all places where people will steal something and then they will turn around and sell it real quick," said LT White said. "So, there's a buyer beware aspect to it, too. You know, it's kind of the old saying if it sounds too good to be true it probably is."

Status Salon near 31st and Harvard said their stolen register tablet was also returned outside the door in poor condition. We were told the case was broken, the credit card scanning device was missing and someone had attempted to reset the tablet itself. This was the only stolen item out of many from Status Salon that was returned. LT White said clearing a guilty conscience will not wipe the record and said the suspect could still face a felony arrest, but he said this is still under investigation.

"They still committed a crime, so you don't get to say, ‘Oh, I undid this crime. Look I brought everything back,’ then just get off scot-free. That just doesn't happen," LT White said.

Carpio said they cannot use any of the returned products on their clients because some of the hair product leaked out and they can not be sure what happened to it or if it's even the same product inside the bottle. However, she now has a renewed sense of hope in humanity.

"It's the small things that make a big difference,” said Carpio. "I just hope you know that she gets the help that she needs."

Carpio said she is grateful to everyone who has reached out and shared the videos on social media. She believes her industry has really rallied together during this turn of events and said Phenix Salon Suites is continuing to try and cultivate a safe environment for its clients.

LT White's unit of nine investigators receives hundreds of cases a week and said many are solved with the help of the community. He told us any tip from the public gives them a good starting point. Anyone with information relating to this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.