Mar 21, 2016 3 min read

Earlier this month, South Strabane Township police Chief Don Zofchak asked the board of supervisors to consider hiring more officers to handle an increasing number of calls, particularly retail theft arrests.

Zofchak’s request may have been validated during an eight-hour span Friday that started about 12:30 p.m. with the arrest of two people after a theft at Tanger Outlets that included a chase and capture of the suspects from Ohio, and ended that night with the arrest of three Erie women accused of stealing from stores at Tanger.

Quantessa Michelle Huffman, 25, and Travis Wolfe, 25, both of Dayton, were arrested following the chase. Huffman, who is charged with felony retail theft and possessing instruments of a crime, is accused of stealing items from H&M Outlets. Police said she was found with a bag lined with foil to block security sensors. Wolfe, who police said was driving the getaway car, was charged in connection with the chase, but police also plan to charge him with retail theft.

Lashana Lendre Mayo Henderson, 24, Krystal Erin Williams, 25, and Jazmine Nicholson, 20, all of Erie, were arrested on charges of felony retail theft, conspiracy and possessing instruments of a crime after police were called to the outlets about 8:25 p.m. for a report of three women stealing from stores. Henderson and Nicholson also were charged with false identification to police after allegedly giving the officer fake names.

All three carried purses and shopping bags. Police said they found clothing valued at $1,676 inside the shopping bags. Reportedly found in the purses were demagnetizing instruments used to cancel radio transmissions from the anti-theft tags on the clothing. Also found was a pair of pliers that could be used to pry off the tags, police said. Video surveillance reportedly showed the three going into stores, selecting clothing and then leaving the businesses.

Williams allowed police to search her car, where police said they found more shopping bags and more clothing.

All three were arraigned before District Judge Ethan Ward, who set a $5,000 bond for each. Nicholson and Williams were released from Washington County Jail Saturday afternoon, while Henderson remained in jail Monday.

A sixth person, Matthew Dorrance, 46, of Pittsburgh, was charged with felony retail theft for allegedly stealing a hammer drill valued at $349 from Home Depot. Dorrance also was arraigned before Ward and was released from jail Monday after posting $500 of a $5,000 percentage bond.

Zofchak told supervisors during their March 8 meeting that there had been an increase in thefts, particularly retail thefts, from 2014 to 2015. In 2015, township police responded to 581 thefts, including retail thefts, which was an increase of 130 from the previous year. Police arrested 395 suspects, up 62 from 2014.

“What happened Friday sums it up in a nutshell,” Zofchak said. “It is a vicious circle.”