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Tonya Papanikolas and Nicole Gonzales reporting Police are trying to crack down on retail theft that spikes during the holidays. Overnight, officers say they caught two men trying to return clothes that weren't actually from the store the men were at.
Officers say what the suspects did was alter the tags to make secondhand clothing look like it came from the store. Police say criminals make a lot of money this way, especially around the holidays.
In this case, an alert manager noticed the men acting suspiciously and called police. When officers arrived at the Ross clothing store in Taylorsville, they saw two men coming in and out numerous times over several hours.
The men would bring in their own clothes in Ross bags and then shop at the store. When they finally went to the register to return their items, the Ross tags on the clothing didn't match up.
"They make a lot of money in swindling the store out by changing tags and then taking the items back to a different store and trying to get a refund," Taylorville Police Sgt. Rosie Rivera said.
When the men left, police followed them to Herriman. There they arrested Avery James Henrichsen. Officers say he had a device with him that was able to switch tags on clothing. He was also carrying drug paraphernalia.
The second man is still being investigated.
Taylorsville police say while they've heard of this scam numerous times, this is the first time they've been able to witness it. They say they will be stepping up patrols in retail areas hoping to discourage thieves during the busy holiday season.
