Man Charged with Stealing 8 iPhones from Woodbury Walmart

A man has been charged with stealing eight iPhones from the Walmart store in Woodbury.

On April 28, Officer Sack of the Woodbury Police Department began investigating a reported theft at the Walmart store in Woodbury that occurred on April 25.

Sack later began investigating a similar theft that had occurred on April 29.

In both thefts, Walmart asset protection associates reviewed video and saw the man approach store employees in the electronics section. On both dates, the man asked employees to obtain various electronic items he wished to purchase.

While the employees did so, the man took iPhones out of the store cases and left the store without paying for them, according to the criminal complaint.

Police say the man took a total of eight iPhones on April 25 and 29. The value of the phones were $549 each, for a total loss of $4,392, according to Walmart employees.

On both occasions, video showed the male leaving the parking lot in a black, two-door Chevrolet Blazer.
Walmart employees recognized the male who committed the thefts as a person who had committed
previous thefts at the store.

Officer Sack ran the plate and learned that the vehicle was registered to someone identified in the complaint as "E.C."

Records from law enforcement and state agencies showed that Jose Martinez, 31, resides at the same address.

Sack obtained a previous booking photo of Martinez and recognized him from a prior occasion on which he had arrested Martinez.

Sack also compared the booking photo to the video depicting the male stealing the iPhones in April 2016. Sack concluded that the male who committed the thefts was Martinez.

Martinez's criminal history reveals numerous prior theft convictions. Court records show two active warrants
for Martinez's arrest in other theft cases.

Image: Mike Mozart via Flickr /Creative Commons