A Norristown man is facing felony retail theft charges after he allegedly used low-priced barcodes and self-checkout to steal multiple higher-priced items from the Souderton Home Depot.
Joseph Malafarina, 36, has been charged with two felony counts of retail theft – altering label or price marking, in connection with the investigation by the Hilltown Township Police Department. He is currently being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of 10% of $1,000 cash bail.
Police allege that between Dec. 20, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2022, Malafarina visited five Home Depot stores across the greater Bucks and Montgomery county area, and with each visit, he allegedly used the barcodes from cheaper items to purchase more expensive items via the stores’ self-checkout aisles. Two of those visits occurred at the Home Depot on Route 113, with Malafarina using a $5.97 barcode to purchase a $599 mitre saw on Jan. 5 and using a barcode for $9.96 to purchase two toolboxes on Jan. 8, according to charging documents.
Total value of the stolen items from the Souderton Home Depot was $778.84, police said.
Malafarina has at least two prior retail theft convictions, with several pending or “disposition unknown” retail theft offenses, according to the complaint. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on May 31 at 1 p.m. in front of District Judge Regina Armitage.
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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