Upper Gwynedd Township Police. Photo by James Short.
A 29-year-old woman is free on $5,000 unsecured bail after being arraigned last week on 25 felony retail theft charges from incidents that occurred in Upper Gwynedd Township, where more than $3,500 was stolen over two months.
Tyshauna Idiah Williams, of the 1100 block of Thomas Street, Chester County, committed the thefts with two other persons and a juvenile at Weis Markets at the North Penn Marketplace on Valley Forge Road, between Dec. 23, 2023 and Feb. 24, 2024, police allege in an affidavit.
Williams is charged with 13 felony retail theft offenses, and 12 conspiracy to commit retail theft charges, per court records.
Police were called to Weis Markets on March 7, where a company representative told police there was a series of thefts committed by four people in the December-February timeframe, police said.
All in all, 13 different thefts occurred, where 373 items were stolen totaling $3,598.56, police said.
Williams was present for all 13 thefts in surveillance video, police said, with one of the other three individuals accompanying her at various times.
Police allege Williams and her accomplices would enter the store, place items in the cart, go to a self-checkout lane, and proceed with scanning the items. However, police said, items would be left unscanned in the cart. All scanned items were placed in shopping bags and put in the cart.
According to the affidavit, one of Williams’s accomplices would conceal the unscanned items still in the cart by placing them in bags containing scanned items. Williams and her associates, police allege, would also place items under the cart with no attempt to scan them. Finally, they would leave the store without paying for the items, police said. All scanned items, according to the complaint, were paid with EBT.
According to police, Williams and her various accomplices committed the thefts as follows:
On Dec. 23, 29, and 30, 2023, 71 items were stolen totaling $710.60
On Jan. 5, 13, and 27, 104 items were stolen totaling $1,222.08
On Feb. 3, 10, 14, 17, 21, 23 and 24, 198 items were stolen totaling $1,494.41
Police said all four suspects were identified through one of the thieves' Weis Club cards, through investigations of their vehicles, and through “open-source inquiry.”
Williams has a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 27 before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard, according to court records. She is represented by attorney Danton Lee Moyer, of Media.
Two of William's alleged accomplices -- an 18-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman, both from Lansdale -- were charged Monday by Upper Gwynedd Police with misdemeanor theft and conspiracy charges related to the incidents in December and January, according to court records.
It is unknown if the juvenile has been charged.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
