Between 8:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., Lander Police were busy dealing with shoplifting incidents around town.
Most notably, two Washington residents were arrested for stealing $184 worth of groceries from both Safeway and Mr. D’s.
47-year-old Christian Cross and 51-year-old David Brault were arrested on two counts of theft. They allegedly stole 19 items totaling $84 from Mr. D’s and 15 items totaling $100 from Safeway.
An LPD media release says they entered the stores in a motorized card, filled the cart, and left the stores without paying.
Brault was not only charged with the 2 counts of theft, he was also cited for Driving Under Suspension, Disturbing The Peace, Open Container, No Vehicle Registration, and No Insurance. The vehicle they two were driving was towed after they were placed into custody.
Roughly 2 hours after the grocery store incident, two people were cited for stealing from the Maverik gas station on East Main Street. A 24-year-old male attempted to steal 2 bottles of an energy drink, totaling $11 and a 21-year-old female attempted to steal a $6 sandwich.
90 minutes later, the Loaf ‘N Jug gas station on Main Street reported an unknown male suspect who ran out of the store with a bottle of vodka. The bottle was priced at $6. He fled the store and police have been unable to locate him thus far.
Lander Police Department Public Information Officer Duane Kaiser tells County 10 that shoplifting has been a problem for a while, but may be increasing slightly this summer, “shoplifting is always happening, but the stores now are paying more attention to suspicious activity an observing more inside the store and contacting us.”