Suspects use foil to shoplift from Albany store, police contend

ALBANY — Three suspects who previously had been banned from all Belk stores in the country have been charged with burglary after being accused of attempting to shoplift items from Belk Department Store at Albany Mall.

Officers of the Albany Police Department responded shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday to the Belk Department Store at Albany Mall, where loss prevention officer Richard Hudson had accused Earnest Smith, Karen Smith and Shelonda Wilson of shoplifting from the store, police officials say.

An officer stated that he arrived as Hudson was involved in a physical altercation with Wilson after she deposited the items in the back of a truck in the Belk’s parking lot.

Hudson told police the suspects had taken various shirts and shorts valued at $377, and passed them through the checkout counter without paying. According to Hudson, aluminum foil was used to shield the items and avoid electronic detection at store exits.

While the suspects were detained in an office at Belk, the officer examined the truck, he said, and found a white plastic bag with a bundle of foil inside.

After foil was also discovered inside the women’s purses, police said Karen Smith confessed to shoplifting the items. The officer said Smith said, “Hey officer, I’ll tell you the truth. I did it. I took the shirts and placed them in the foil and put it up under my shirt.”

According to the officer, Smith tried to assume all blame for taking the items, claiming the other suspects were innocent.

Hudson later contacted corporate headquarters for Belk, police officials say, who advised that the suspects had been banned from all Belk stores in the United States.

The suspects were charged with 2nd degree burglary and possession of tools in the commission of a crime and transported to the Dougherty County jail.