Two women from Palatka were arrested for allegedly shoplifting from a T.J. Maxx store in Palm Coast, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday. 33-year-old Mareena Aviles and 26-year-old Kaliya Thomas were both booked into the county jail on multiple felony charges on Wednesday last week.
According to the FCSO’s statement on the arrests, the two women were seen putting clothes into a bag by a T.J. Maxx employee, and then exiting the store without paying for them. The employee followed the two women outside and got back the clothes that’d been stolen, and then called the police.
Locating the Suspects
Within two miles from the T.J. Maxx store deputies were able to locate the vehicle driven by the two women and pull them over for a traffic stop. Upon inspecting their vehicle, several items of clothing with their T.J. Maxx tags still on were reportedly found inside. The security tags had reportedly been removed from these clothes. Also found, the FCSO says, was marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Further investigation of the shoplifting spree led to a belief by law enforcement that Aviles and Thomas have been shoplifting from multiple stores across several counties. Flagler County, Alachua County, and Marion County are among the locations the women are said to have hit. Aviles in particular has been charged for similar crimes before in Alachua and Putnam counties.
Criminal Charges Prior and Present
For this incident Aviles was charged with habitually driving with a suspended license, use of an anti-shoplifting device, petty theft with multiple priors, marijuana possession, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her bond was set at $46,000, and she remains in custody as of Monday afternoon. Other bookings in Flagler County for Aviles include giving a false name to law enforcement, driving without a license and failure to register, and habitual traffic offenses.
Thomas, meanwhile, was charged with the usage of an anti-shoplifting device and petty theft with multiple priors. Her bond was set at $20,000, and she also remains at the county jail as of Monday afternoon. Prior Flagler bookings for Thomas include shoplifting between $750 and $5,000, plus multiple instances of violation of pretrial release.
“This thieving duo made the wrong turn and came to Flagler County to try and rip off a local business,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “The quick response of our deputies ensured these two thieves were stopped in their tracks! Their ‘free’ shoplifting spree won them a stack of charges and a free trip and stay at the [county jail].”
Crime doesn’t pay but for some you can’t fix stupid.