Julie Humphreys, Public Safety Communication Manager, 509.622.5868
Thursday, September 28, 2023 at 2:02 p.m.
The Spokane Police Department’s SPEAR unit (Stolen Property Enforcement and Recovery) is investigating a recent increase in thefts committed by what appears to be several groups of travelers, many of Romani decent. These groups move through cities committing crimes for several days before moving on. The crimes include selling fake gold, Buddhist Temple burglaries, and mass shoplifting by women and children.
The most recent trend occurred in late September when a group of thieves stole more than $6,000 worth of Similac baby formula from multiple grocery stores in Kennewick, Spokane, Liberty Lake, Post Falls, and Couer D Alene. At times, the thieves have wiped out entire store shelves of their supply of baby formula. These groups are often large and use children and multiple people to distract employees. They often wear sandals and the women wear long dresses. They tie duffel bags around their waists under their dresses and then fill them with merchandise and waddle out of the store.
These groups often travel in similar minivans and stay in camp grounds, RV parks, or other temporary parking areas. One recent group traveled in a 2006-ish KIA Sedona with fake Texas temporary tags #2185D66 and eagle head and wolf head stickers on the rear window.
In every incident the woman in the two pictures on the left used a young boy about 6 years old to push a full shopping cart out to a waiting van driven by a white male. In a separate incident the woman on the right hid a large bag under her dress and filled it up with baby formula but fled after being caught by employees. On two different attempted thefts, the woman dropped everything and fled after the boy alerted her to employees watching or following them.
The Spokane Police Department is looking for any additional information about these groups. If anyone has information about where they stayed in Spokane between September 18th and 22nd or has additional video surveillance to assist in identification please contact Sgt. Brian Eckersley at beckersley@spokanepolice.org. Be vigilant and observant and please report any suspicious behavior to store employees.
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eraspdweb@spokanepolice.org
For nuisance reports, including code violations (i.e. illegal camping, substantial litter in yards or alleys, graffiti, land use violations), parking complaints, and road condition issues contact:
Julie Humphreys
509.622.5868
jhumphreys@spokanepolice.org
Crime Check: 509.456.2233
Tipline: 509.242.TIPS (8477)
My Spokane: 311, or for outside city limits, 509.755.CITY (2489)
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