Woman used children to steal $500 of clothing from Florida Target store
CLEARWATER, Fla Aug 5 2018— Twenty-eight-year-old Gabriela Perez-Chavez appeared in a Pinellas County courtroom Wednesday, accused of retail theft.
Clearwater Police said Perez-Chavez used her daughters to help steal almost $500.00 from the Target in Clearwater Mall.
“She was pushing one child in a stroller, that child had on a backpack full of stolen items, and as she walked out next to her was another child with a backpack on her back full of stolen items,” said Clearwater Police spokesperson Rob Shaw.
“The children were maybe three and seven years old ballpark range and, you know, they obviously had no idea what was going on, that they were helping to steal,” Shaw added.
Stolen items included clothing, markers and toys totaling $497.45.
“It looked like almost like a miniature back-to-school shopping spree,” said Shaw. “There were a lot of clothing items, there were some items you would use at school, there were some scissors, some markers, some things along those lines.”
“There were also some stuffed animals,” Shaw went on. “I mean, each child as they were leaving the store was clutching a stolen stuffed animal.”
While relatives said they don’t know why Perez-Chavez would steal, Shaw reminds there is help for families needing it.
“There are alternatives to this, there are many organizations in the Tampa Bay area that help people who need items along these lines,” said Shaw.
While Perez-Chavez sits in jail, the children are with family.
Relatives said she is from Mexico. Records show she’s currently on Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold.
