Cherry Hill Police Nab 8 Alleged Shoplifters in 5 Days

There are only 79 shoplifting days until Christmas—but like these alleged criminals found out, Cherry Hill police are working all of them.

In a five-day period from the end of September to the beginning of October, eight alleged shoplifters were caught by police, who said the alleged would-be thieves tried to grab a total of nearly $3,500 from stores at the Cherry Hill Mall and Hillview Center.

The biggest of the seven arrests came Oct. 2, when police said Juan Diego Moreno-Zapata of New Hyde, NY, tried to leave Express in the mall without paying for $1,328 worth of merchandise. Moreno-Zapata was charged with shoplifting and related offenses, police said.

Not far off that was Thomas W. Haas, of Southampton, NJ, who police said tried to flee from Kohl's in the Hillview Center without paying for $931 worth of stuff on Sept. 30. Haas tried to duck out when authorities arrived, police said, piling up extra charges. Haas faces shoplifting and eluding arrest by fleeing, as well as other related charges.

Police made a second arrest at Kohl's the day before that, charging Chrisann Query, of Mt. Ephraim, with shoplifting on Sept. 29 after police said she attempted to take off with $363.64 worth of merchandise.

Another incident came the same day, when police arrested two women they said attempted to shoplift from JC Penney in the mall. Marguerite Thi Kim and Aldania M. Estevez-Fernandez, both of Camden, allegedly tried to shoplift $315 worth of merchandise. Both face shoplifting charges as a result, police said.

Another pair of women were arrested at JC Penney on Oct. 2, when police said they tried to take $475 worth of stuff from the store. Maria Farmakis, of Pennsauken, and Erica L. Armour, of Camden, were both charged with shoplifting.

Finally, police arrested a Delaware woman who allegedly escalated an incident of shoplifting at JC Penney on Sept. 28. Chanel Cai Gamble, of Bear, DE, tried to leave without paying for $57 worth of merchandise, then ended up in a fight with store security, police said. Because of the physical altercation, police charged Gamble with robbery.

Information provided by Cherry Hill Police. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.