Nationwide Home Improvement Theft Scheme Broken Up In Southington

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Three Texas men accused of being involved in a nationwide larceny operation were nabbed Wednesday at a Southington big box home improvement store, police said.

The incident was at the local Lowe's at 500 Executive Boulevard.

Arrested were:

• Daniel Raymond Thomas 22, of Fort Worth, TX. He was charged with interfering with police, third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit larceny in the third-degree and sixth-degree larceny. He is also considered to be a fugitive from justice, police said. Thomas' bond was set at $150,000.

Clarence Gerald Davis, 22 of Burleson, TX, He was charged with conspiracy to commit larceny in the third degree. His bond was set at $150,000.

Marcus A. Hunter, 23, of Fort Worth, TX. He was charged with conspiracy to commit larceny in the third degree, interfering with police, failure to obey an officer's signal and reckless driving. He bond was set at $150,000.

On Wednesday at 1:45 p.m. the Southington Police Department responded to the local Lowes after receiving a report about an active theft involving large spools of wire.

Three men were seen taking the spools, then trying to pay for them with a fraudulent Lowes account, according to a report.

Officers located rented box truck that had been used to transport large spools of wire, according to a report.

Another vehicle, a black Honda with Texas registration, fled the area just as police arrived. The Honda blew a tire and the driver fled on foot before being apprehended by Southington officers a short distance away, according to a report.

A second suspect fled the area on foot heading toward Target and, after a foot chase, was apprehended by Southington officers, according to a report.

A third suspect was taken into custody inside the Lowes store, police said.

They were then identified as, Hunter, Davis and Thomas, who are suspected of being involved in similar thefts in Wallingford and New Haven earlier in the day, according to a report.

Police said Thomas has an active Secret Service extraditable federal warrant in an ongoing nationwide fraudulent payment scheme, according to a report.

The stolen Southington items were recovered in the store. The total value of the attempted theft was $6,939.34, police said.