Arrests.
An alleged multi-state CVS serial shoplifter’s spree has come to an end, due to the tandem teamwork of a New Britain Township Police detective and a Plumstead Township Police corporal.
According to a criminal complaint filed in April, Dens Marcellus aka Denz Marcellus, of the 1200 block of Brooklyn Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, is facing two counts of felony retail theft and one felony receiving stolen property charge for stealing thousands of dollars of merchandise, specifically over-the-counter allergy medication, from Bucks County CVS Pharmacy stores on Ferry Road in Plumstead Township and on Swamp Road in New Britain Township on Nov. 29
Police allege Marcellus conducted similar retail thefts at CVS Pharmacy locations across seven states in the Northeastern United States, so much so, that he was known to CVS’ Organized Retail Crime & Corporate Investigations units in New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Police said two situations led authorities to Marcellus: His M.O. of wearing the same outfit emblazoned with familiar brand names in all surveillance videos of the thefts in different states, and the GPS tracker from the Chevrolet Suburban he rented from Avis to commit the alleged crimes.
According to the affidavit, a man in a white mask, a black sweatshirt with “EASTON” in red font on the front, gray pants, a gray pom-pom beanie, and Nike Panda Dunk sneakers entered the CVS at 4361 Swamp Road at 6:36 p.m. Nov. 29, 2023, with two large black trash bags, where he proceeded to take merchandise, specifically over-the-counter allergy medications, totaling $1,285.16.
The individual, which police allege to be Marcellus, then left the store within eight minutes of entering, and entered a white Chevrolet Impala parked near Home Goods and Marshall’s, per the affidavit.
While the license plate of the car was captured on police traffic cameras, the state was indeterminable, and police allege the plate to be fake or counterfeit. Investigators would find that the same registration on the Impala would match registration captured on several traffic cameras in Brooklyn on at least three different vehicles between Oct. 23 and Nov. 29, 2023, per the complaint.
Then, at 6:57 p.m., Marcellus, police allege, entered the CVS at 1456 Ferry Road in New Britain Township, where he again took mainly over-the-counter allergy medications and concealed them in a black bag, before leaving at 7:02 p.m. with $3,166.89 in merchandise.
On Nov. 30, 2023, police circulated information and pictures of the alleged thief on social media and on an area crime sharing distribution list, in order to identify him and find other departments which may have similar cases, police said. Soon, authorities were contacted by CVS investigators who told them Marcellus was a known “booster” (someone who steals from retail stores), per the complaint.
In the end, investigators would discover that Marcellus conducted similar thefts at other CVS and Walgreens stores in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maryland, and North Carolina, between Oct. 23, 2023 and Feb. 25, 2024, police allege in the affidavit.
Marcellus, per the complaint, also used different vehicles during the crimes.
On Feb. 5, police in East Manchester Township, Pa. contacted investigators to report Marcellus had stolen similar medications using the same method, in the same outfit and Nike Panda Dunks, at three CVS locations, per the affidavit. The car used during the thefts, police allege, was a dark gray Chevrolet Suburban owned by AVIS with stolen Virginia registration.
Via a search warrant, police found Marcellus’ rental agreement for a Suburban from AVIS, which included historical GPS information, police said, placing Marcellus at CVS stores with thefts.
Police were assisted in the investigation by store management, CVS’ Organized Retail Crime & Corporate Investigations in New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania & Delaware, and CVS’ Organized Retail Crime & Special Investigations in New England.
Marcellus is also facing a misdemeanor receiving stolen property charge, per court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 9 at 1:30 p.m. before Bucks County Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage.
He is free on $50,000 unsecured bail, set at arraignment by Armitage, according to court records. Marcellus has two other active theft cases in York County, Pa.
