PARIS – Two suspects in thefts that targeted two area Wal-Mart stores and a Sears store pleaded not guilty to felony theft charges at their arraignments Wednesday in Oxford County Superior Court.
Bail was set at $1,000 cash for Jarrett Rossi, 31, of Casco. Rossi was being held at Oxford County Jail. He is charged with Class B felony theft.
Wendell L. Gildard Jr., 41, of Naples, also is charged with Class B felony theft. Gildard was released from Oxford County Jail after posting $1,500 cash bail. He was arrested Oct. 4 by Mexico Patrolman Michael Richard in Rumford.
Wal-Mart security and police uncovered the thefts after Wal-Mart security detained Gildard for police on Aug. 26, police said earlier. Richard responded and subsequently summoned Gildard for misdemeanor theft in connection with the incident, in which $700 worth of merchandise was taken.
The suspects are accused of stealing more than $11,000 in movie DVDs at the Wal-Mart store in Mexico and then selling them at yard sales. They also are accused of stealing from at least two other stores, Wal-Mart in Oxford and Sears in Augusta.
Mexico Police Chief James Theriault said last month that the incidents were captured on surveillance videos at the Wal-Mart in Mexico. He said the modus operandi at the Mexico store was to fill a shopping cart with DVDs, put them in duffel bags, and head for the lawn and garden section about one hour before closing time at the store.
Once in the lawn and garden section, the thieves would throw the duffel bags over the fence, leave the store, and drive over and retrieve the bags, Theriault said.
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