Two people accused of being serial thieves at TJ Maxx are now facing charges in Schuylkill County after police say one of them dropped his phone in the parking lot during a grab-and-dash incident.
State Police say they were called to the TJ Maxx store at Fairlane Village Mall on Oct. 11, 2024 for a reported retail theft incident.
At the store, police say they spoke with an asset protection manager who reported that on Oct. 10, shortly before 9 p.m., a woman entered the store followed by a man.
During their investigation, police say they identified the suspects as Calvin Herrera, 41, and Harley Huff, 32, both of Hazleton.
While in the store, police say surveillance video from inside shows Herrera and Huff meeting up at various points in the store as they collected merchandise.
At about 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 10, Huff reportedly leaves the store. Herrera follows closely behind Huff with a hamper in his hand. That hamper was filled with merchandise he hadn’t paid for, police say.
As Herrera was fleeing the store, police say, he dropped a blue Motorola phone and some of the stolen merchandise. He then gets in a vehicle and fled. The phone was entered into evidence by police.
TJ Maxx provided police with an itemized list of the items stolen during this incident but that list is not included in court records. The store valued the stolen merchandise at $754.70.
In the course of the investigation, police also learned that Herrera and Huff are suspected in at least two other similar incidents at TJ Maxx stores in the region at the same time.
They’re also suspected of boosting $938.53 worth of merchandise from the store in Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 2, 2024. In that incident, they’re allegedly joined by a 36-year-old man named Joshua Garced.
And on Sept. 28, Herrera is suspected of stealing $77.97 worth of items from the TJ Maxx in Hazleton.
Last week, police filed two felony counts of a retail theft and one felony count of receiving stolen property against Herrera and two misdemeanor counts of retail theft and one misdemeanor count of receiving stolen property against Huff in District Court in Port Carbon.
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