Columbus residents found guilty after stealing over $900K in multi-state Sam’s Club theft ring
Columbus, GA March 5 2022
Several Columbus-area residents involved in a multi-state Sam’s Club theft ring amounting to $900,567 in loss to the company were sentenced to federal prison for their crimes. The following suspects were found guilty:
- 46-year-old Brian Cowman, of Fortson, was sentenced to serve nearly four years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Cowman previously pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to transport stolen goods.
- 68-year-old Marcel Crawford, of Columbus, was sentenced to serve nearly three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.
- 55-year-old Ernest Mitchell, of Columbus, was sentenced to serve just over four years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release after they previously pleaded guilty to one count conspiracy to transport stolen goods.
- 48-year-old Mildred Alarcon, of Fortson, previously pleaded guilty to one count of false statements and was sentenced to three years of probation.
According to court documents, Cowman and Crawford conspired to transport and sell stolen goods taken from numerous Sam’s Club stores located throughout the southeastern and midwestern United States between March 2018 and Feb. 2019, with the assistance of the remaining co-defendants.
Court documents say Crawford and his co-conspirators traveled to Sam’s Clubs stores in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, where they would steal various items including ink cartridges, Bose speakers, razors, DVDs, and tick and flea medications and collars for pets.
The co-defendants often committed their crimes by emptying large boxes filled with inexpensive paper goods and filling them with more expensive items, paying only the cost of the boxed item and walking out of the store with the pilfered goods. wtvm.com
