DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Two Daytona Beach police officers escorting Mr. and Mrs. Claus to a tree lighting ceremony broke up a major theft ring in the parking lot Saturday night, the Police Department said.
Officers Joe Evans and Courtney Wooleyhan were returning to duty, after escorting Santa and Mrs. Claus to the Tanger Outlets tree lighting, when they saw two men stealing a tire from a vehicle in the parking lot.
The officers detained the men as well as two women who accompanied them.
Inside the suspects’ car, the officers found stolen merchandise from Old Navy, H&M, Express, Polo, Rue 21 and Under Armour.
Police identified the suspects as Johnarian Young, 19, Shaijuan Christie, 25, and Debbie Champagnie, 47, and an unidentified 16-year-old.
The stolen merchandise and pilfered tire were returned to their rightful owners, police said.
@DBCops1 Joe Evans and Courtney Wooleyhan helped spread holiday cheer Saturday at Tanger Outlets. Moments later, the officers busted four thieves removing a tire from a shopper's car. The thieves also had stolen property from six outlet stores in their auto! pic.twitter.com/kApdaORnNO
— Daytona Beach Police (@DaytonaBchPD) November 18, 2018
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