Two women from New Jersey are each facing felony charges of retail theft and criminal conspiracy after allegedly stuffing $1,500 of Burlington Coat Factory merchandise into two suitcases and fleeing the store, Hilltown Township Police said, but only going so far as the nearby Walmart where they were arrested by officers.
Reina Terezon Zepeda, 34, of Garibaldi Avenue in Newark, and Veronica J. Quinteros Salazar, 37, of Lynsey Place in East Orange are each charged with criminal conspiracy to engage in retail theft, retail theft by taking merchandise, and retail theft by transferring merchandise from one container to another to device the full retail value, according to charging documents.
Zepeda and Salazar are both free on 10% of $10,000 cash bail as of March 1, following a preliminary arraignment before Bucks County District Judge Regina Armitage, according to court documents. A preliminary hearing is set for April 9 at 2:45 p.m. for Salazar and at 3 p.m. for Zepeda, per court records.
A third female involved in the alleged theft has not been identified or located.
Police responded to Burlington at 1591 Bethlehem Pike in Hilltown at 8:25 p.m. Feb. 29 for a report of three Hispanic females that loaded a shopping cart full of merchandise, and then loaded three suitcases full of various other merchandise from the store, police said.
When asked by the manager if they needed help, the trio ignored the manager and separated to different parts of the store, police said.
One suitcase full of merchandise was found abandoned, police said, as was the shopping cart of merchandise. The other two suitcases were not found, police said.
While the manager checked the store for the alleged thieves, she allegedly saw one of the women run out of the store and into a white Chevrolet Suburban with a black door, police said. The Suburban fled in the direction of Walmart, located in the same shopping center, police said.
Police, working from a description of the females and the vehicle, allegedly found the SUV in the Walmart parking lot, with a Hispanic woman inside, police said. The manager confirmed, via photographs, that it was one of the women allegedly involved in the theft and the vehicle, police said.
Police identified Salazar as the woman in the SUV, they allege, and Zepeda was found in the parking lot by another officer.
Police said the officer looked inside the rear compartment of the SUV and saw two large suitcases inside. Police photographed the suitcases and sent them to the manager, who confirmed the suitcases belonged to Burlington, police said.
Zepeda hails from El Salvador, and Salazar from Ecuador, according to the criminal complaint.
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