MEXICO – Police and Wal-Mart security have uncovered a ring of thieves who stole more than $11,000 in movie DVDs at the Mexico store in August, then sold them at yard sales, police said.
The group also stole from at least two other stores, Wal-Mart in Oxford and Sears in Augusta, police said.
One of the three suspects, Wendell L. Gildard Jr., 41, of Naples, is to be arraigned this morning on a Class B felony theft charge at Paris District Court in Paris.
Gildard, who was arrested Tuesday by Mexico Patrolman Michael Richard in Rumford, remained behind bars Wednesday afternoon at Oxford County Jail in Paris. He had failed to post bail of either $5,000 cash or $75,000 surety.
Mexico Police Chief James Theriault said Wednesday afternoon that police are seeking another man and a woman, one of them from Castine, the other from Naples.
“There were three people involved, but we haven’t caught up with the other two yet,” Theriault said.
“It was great work by Wal-Mart security. They did an excellent, excellent job,” he added.
Contacted by phone Wednesday afternoon, an assistant manager at the store declined to comment, citing legal concerns.
The crime ring reportedly targeted the Mexico Wal-Mart store on three nights in late August.
Police, who were unaware of the organized thefts, had a break in the case at 9:30 p.m. Aug. 26, but didn’t know it until days later. Wal-Mart security on Aug. 26 detained Gildard for police on a charge of shoplifting about $700 worth of merchandise, Theriault said.
Richard responded and subsequently summoned Gildard for misdemeanor theft.
“He had three shopping carts full of DVDs, about $3,000 worth, when Officer Richards caught him,” Theriault said.
“Two days later, a Wal-Mart security officer looked at a whole bunch of surveillance videotapes at the store, saw what they were doing, and how they got (the DVDs) out of the store,” he said.
Knowing that the Mexico Wal-Mart store closes at 10 p.m., Theriault said the thieves waited until about an hour before closing to start their operation.
The modus operandi was to fill a shopping cart with DVD movies, put them in duffel bags, and head for the lawn and garden section, which opens into an area outside the store building that is enclosed by a high fence, Theriault said.
“They waited specifically until the end of the night, because they knew that the Lawn and Garden Department would be empty of employees,” he said.
Once there, they threw the duffel bags over the fence, left the store through the front door, then drove over and retrieved the bags, Theriault said.
“We don’t know if they done it this way in the other stores or not though, but they sold everything in yard sales, pocketing whatever money they made,” he added.
After realizing the scope of the operation, police tried unsuccessfully to get Gildard to return to the Mexico police station for questioning.
Getting the opportunity to arrest Gildard was a fluke, the police chief said.
Theriault said he was in Rumford District Court for arraignments Tuesday morning when a court clerk asked him about the Aug. 26 summons that Richard had given to Gildard.
Gildard had shown up that morning for his arraignment on the summons, but police had not yet filed the complaint with the court.
Theriault said he couldn’t believe their luck.
“I called Mike (Richard) over and he arrested him. Gildard was a little surprised when Mike told him he didn’t have to be there, because we hadn’t filed the complaint yet,” Theriault said.
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