Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – Two are in-custody for shoplifting nearly $3,500 from Walmart after loss prevention staff recognized the thieves from a theft the day before. When officers were summoned to Walmart on Friday, October 23, 2015 around 1:00 p.m. they quickly stopped the thieves as they were trying to get away in a rental car. Around $3,500 in stolen merchandise was discovered in the car.
The day before, on Thursday, October 22, the two shoplifters went to Walmart, located at 300 Pleasant Grove Road, and removed contents from a higher priced item and placed the contents into a lower priced item’s box. When they left the store, they purchased the lower priced item containing the more expensive contents. They came back the next day, and loss prevention staff recognized the thieves and immediately called police.
Officers caught up to the suspects in Walmart’s parking lot, who were identified as Illya Johnson, 40, of Memphis, and Thedius Bean, 19, of Chicago, Illinois. 6 video surveillance systems, 1 computer, 1 GoPro camera, and 18 bottles of cologne were recovered as stolen property from the car. Johnson gave a false name and social security number to officers in an attempt to conceal his identity, but officers were able to figure out who he really was. It was also discovered that Johnson had active warrants for his arrest out of Shelby County for 2 counts of Theft, 2 counts of Driving While Revoked, and Failure to Appear.
“It is apparent that retail staff in Mt. Juliet are always watchful and committed to ensuring thieves are not successful in our stores,” said Police Chief James Hambrick. “The strong relationships that we have with retail staff are so beneficial in our efforts to curb shoplifting and catch the thieves when they attempt theft.”
Johnson and Bean were arrested and booked into the Wilson County Jail. Johnson was charged with Theft of Merchandise and Criminal Impersonation, and Bean was charged with Theft of Merchandise.
Illya Johnson, 40, of Memphis
Thedius Bean, 19, of Chicago, Illinois
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