West Des Moines Mall Worker ‘Clamps Down’ on Crime

With two shopping malls and a large retail sector, the most frequent crimes investigate are shoplifting cases.

Here's a snapshot of what they encountered when they were "tripped" to investigate a shoplifting case:

She Looked Familiar

When Drew Aber chased down a suspected shoplifter, wrestled her to the ground with the assistance of a couple of co-workers and held her in place until police arrived by sitting down beside her in the parking lot and keeping a firm grasp on her arm, it was all in a day’s work.

A loss prevention specialist, it’s Aber’s job at JC Penney to be on the lookout for shoplifters. He had the afternoon shift at the Penney’s store at and had his eyes trained for suspicious activity.

He hit the jackpot as far as preventing loss before it happens goes.

There, allegedly stuffing pair after pair after pair of blue jeans in a large orange purse, was a 24-year-old Marshalltown woman who was a “known shoplifter,” Aber told Officer Chris Morgan. The woman, Erin Lynn Robinson of Marshalltown, allegedly has a history of fraudulent returns of the stolen merchandise, pocketing thousands of dollars in the scam.

Officer Chris Morgan wrote in his report that when he arrived at the scene, Aber was holding Robinson in place and she was still struggling and trying to get away. Morgan said he restrained her with two sets of handcuffs.

Aber told Morgan that when Robinson allegedly left the store without paying for merchandise on May 29, he identified himself as a loss prevention employee and she attempted to run east through the parking lot. Aber said that he grabbed the suspect and was attempting to detain her when two other employees came to his assistance and helped wrestle her to the ground.

According to Morgan’s report, Robinson has four previous theft convictions, one from the West Des Moines Penney’s store and three from Marshalltown.