Two men from Philadelphia are facing felony retail theft charges stemming from an alleged shoplifting spree on April 1 that netted the duo more than 50 packages of eye drops along with some medical equipment and video games.
Earl Dais, 29, and Steven Kelly, 24, both of Philadelphia, have been charged with felony counts of retail theft and receiving stolen property, as well as felony counts of conspiracy to commit retail theft and conspiracy to receive stolen property, in connection with the investigation.
Montgomery Township Police made contact with Dais and Kelly as they were exiting Target — located at 125 Witchwood Drive — with stolen merchandise at 12:09 p.m., following a call from store security about a retail theft in progress, police said. Dais was in possession of a stolen black backpack that had been filled with video games and nearly a dozen packages of eye drops, and Kelly had a shopping cart filled with two stolen televisions, several streaming devices and more eye drops, according to the report.
The total value of unpaid merchandise from Target was $1,207.01, the report states.
Once the pair were taken into custody, investigators learned that Dais and Kelly had stolen from at least two other area stores earlier that day, including the Giant located along the 1200 block of Knapp Road and a CVS Pharmacy located along the 900 block of Sumneytown Pike in Lower Gwynedd Township, police said.
The report states that at 11:10 a.m., Dais and Kelly stole upwards of 40 boxes of eye drops and eye care medication from Giant, which had a combined retail value of $548.79. Additionally, at 10:54 a.m., the pair was caught on surveillance at CVS stealing more than $400 worth of blood pressure cuffs and medical equipment, police said.
Merchandise from the thefts at Giant and CVS were recovered from the back seat of their vehicle, the report states. Total value of merchandise across all three thefts was $2,190.35, according to the report.
Both Dais and Kelly were arraigned later that evening by Magisterial District Judge Elizabeth McHugh Casey, who set bail at $5,000 cash for each. Both men were then remanded to county jail after failing to post bail, and they both have a preliminary hearing scheduled for 11:30 a.m. on April 20 in front of Magisterial District Judge Andrea Duffy.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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