Police: Snohomish man steals from unattended cash registers in malls from Southcenter to Alderwood

Police say a south Snohomish County man has been robbing department stores from Southcenter to Alderwood over the course of more than a year.

He was caught numerous times on surveillance cameras, so mall security knew what he looked like, but they had never seen him in person until last Friday.

While shoppers were checking out deals and unsuspecting sales associates were busy with shoppers Friday, police say the man was helping himself to the contents of cash registers in Alderwood Mall’s JCPenney and Macy’s.

“These till taps involve a specific individual who is recorded on video multiple times committing these thefts,” explained Lynnwood Detective Sgt. Doug Teachworth.

Teachworth tells us they believe that individual has till tapped at a dozen or more big box stores from Southcenter to Alderwood since February 2018, always during business hours and using, at least sometimes, a crowbar.

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“Friday, an astute security officer at the mall observed who they thought was the suspect based on physical characteristics and some clothing items, I believe, began to follow that individual as he met up with a female,” Teachworth said.

Lynnwood police took it from there, confronting the man outside a local restaurant.

Curious as to how the thief got away with the till taps for so long, KIRO 7 walked the Alderwood Mall on Wednesday afternoon. We saw numerous unmanned cash registers in every department store, but the mall was a very busy place place to commit such a visible crime.

But mall patron Gwen Albright says she’s actually not surprised; she says finding a clerk to ring up her purchases is quite often an impossible task.

“If the opportunity is there, you could come in and look around and see there’s nobody there,” she told us.

The man was arrested on felony warrants. He hasn’t been charged in this case yet because detectives across many jurisdictions are still working to connect the dots.

Cox Media Group