On September 14, 2018, at 16:00 hours, Officers Schneider, Moreira, and I were dispatched to Kmart for a report of a male who had pointed a gun at two other males. Simultaneously, I was contacted by loss prevention officers from Kmart, TJ Maxx, and Burlington, requesting assistance with a male, immediately identified as Christopher MACINNES, who had just stolen items from each store, and fled towards Dunkin Donuts on Middlesex Avenue. TJ Maxx loss prevention advised me to use caution, as the male appeared to have a sharp object he was using to try to cut tags off of merchandise.

Upon arrival at Kmart, we spoke with loss prevention officers, and learned that when they attempted to apprehend MACINNES, he quickly became agitated and aggressive. An unknown male party saw what was going on, and came over to assist loss prevention officers, subsequently lifting his shirt to display a firearm in a leather holster. After MACINNES fled, the male told loss prevention the firearm was a BB gun, and that he does not carry a real firearm. Units conducted a thorough search of the area, but were unable to locate this male.

Officers Schneider, Moreira, and I made our way to Dunkin Donuts, where we located MACINNES sitting inside. It should be noted we are all very familiar with MACINNES, as is area loss prevention, as we have all dealt with him on numerous occasions for shoplifting and other offenses. MACINNES told us he had just gotten out of jail this morning, after being arrested by Burlington Police last night, and was at Somerville District Courthouse earlier in the day to report to his probation officer. MACINNES was adamant he had purchased all of the items in his property, but had no receipts on him, and stated he didn’t have enough money to take the bus. I observed MACINNES to be bleeding from the knee, along with bloody smears on much of the property with him. When asked what happened, MACINNES shrugged it off and told us he had fallen and cut his knee.

I contacted loss prevention officers to determine exactly what items he had stolen from each store. Kmart reported he had stuffed his pants with watches, most of which had been recovered; however, inside his bag and inside his pants leg officers located two Kmart watches, both of which still had partial packaging on them. Kmart loss prevention told me MACINNES had a pair of scissors on him, which they tossed to the side during apprehension, as he was becoming aggressive. A later review of surveillance footage showed him walking around Kmart with a pair of scissors, commonly used as theft detection removal devices, in his right back pocket.

Burlington loss prevention reported that MACINNES had stolen at least three sets of headphones, which were also located in his property. TJ Maxx observed MACINNES bend down behind a sneaker display, and believed he concealed sneakers, but couldn’t be sure due to a blind spot in the surveillance cameras. When they attempted to customer service MACINNES, he offered up to loss prevention that he wears women’s sneakers. Inside MACINNES’ bag I located a pair of women’s New Balance sneakers, with the TJ Maxx tag ripped off and resting nearby. Inside the sneakers were sizing stickers that matched the type used at TJ Maxx stores. MACINNES was placed under arrest for Shoplifting by Concealment (x4), and Possession of a Theft Detection Removal Device (scissors). He was handcuffed, and transported to the station for booking. It should be noted MACINNES became quite agitated from the time of arrest to booking, banging on the sides of the transport wagon, screaming and yelling at officers, and physically refusing to comply.

I conducted follow ups at each of the four stores, where the packaging from the stolen merchandise was recovered for most items. In both Burlington and Kmart, bloody knee prints were located on the floor of display cases where MACINNES had ripped open packaging and concealed items. At the time of his arrest, MACINNES had a brand new yellow “Boston” sweatshirt with a Christmas Tree Shop tag, and two large pairs of headphones in his property. I was able to confirm with Christmas Tree Shop management that the sweatshirt and headphones belonged to their store. At displays in both Burlington and Christmas Tree Shop, I located boxes that had been ripped open, matching the exact same items recovered from MACINNES. The total loss to each store is as follows; Kmart – $53.58, TJ Maxx – $49.99, Burlington – $15.97, and Christmas Tree Shop – $48.97, bringing the overall value of stolen merchandise to $168.51.

Respectfully submitted,

Officer Reece

#325