On Sunday, November 20th, 2016, I (Officer Devin Schneider) was in full uniform while assigned to the Assembly Row unit. The following report is a summary of the events that I witnessed, as they pertain to incident #16073520:
At 3:30 pm, I received a call from Saks Off Fifth Avenue Loss Prevention Officer (LPO) XXXXX on my department issued cell phone. XXXXX informed me that she had just witnessed a male suspect in her store who was removing theft detection devices from jeans then concealing the jeans in a bag. I responded to Saks, located at 300 Canal Street, while I stayed on the phone with XXXXX.
XXXXX informed me that the suspect had exited through the Grand Union Boulevard exit of the store, making no attempt to pay for the merchandise. I could hear XXXXX through the open phone line, as she tried to convince the suspect to return to the store with her, and the suspect refused. I arrived in the area across the street from Saks a few seconds later, where I observed XXXXX and the suspect. Upon my arrival, the suspect became compliant, and was escorted back to the Saks loss prevention office.
The suspect identified himself as Thai Le. I learned the following from XXXXX based on her observations of Mr. Le on the store’s video surveillance system:
(Mr. Le had selected two pairs of True Religion jeans from the sales floor. Mr. Le brought the merchandise to the shoe department, which is more secluded based on the tall store fixtures. Mr. Le ripped the theft detection devices off of the jeans, causing the jeans to rip, before concealing the jeans in a paper TJ Maxx bag.)
The total value of the two stolen jeans equals: $279.99. XXXXX created a store receipt to reflect the value of the merchandise. Mr. Le was issued a no trespass warning for all Saks property.
A query of Mr. Le’s name through Somerville Dispatch revealed that he had two active arrest warrants. I placed Mr. Le under arrest, handcuffing him in a manner consistent with my training, and double locking the handcuffs. Mr. Le was transported back to the police station in prisoner transport unit 200, operated by Officer Robert Hartsgrove. At the station, Mr. Le was booked in the usual manner by the Commanding Officer, Lt. William Rymill.
I will be charging Thai Le with the following violations of M.A. General Law:
Ch. 266 / S. 30: Larceny Over $250
Ch. 266 / S. 30B(e): Unlawful Removal of a Theft Detection Device
Respectfully submitted,
Officer Devin Schneider
Badge #295