Philly Man Allegedly Steals More than $6,500 in Mall Goods

An arrest warrant was issued late last month for a Philadelphia man after he allegedly fled the mall after stealing from Sears … and after a family member picked up his vehicle, police said.

The warrant was issued April 17 for Michael Owens, 50, of Opal Street, after Owens on April 11 allegedly walked out of a second-floor Sears exit at Willow Grove Park mall with a canvas bag containing $866 worth of merchandise for which he did not pay, police said. According to police, as a Sears loss patrol officer approached Owens, he dropped the canvas bag and fled on foot toward the public transportation terminal.

According to police, the Sears loss prevention officers said Owens had previously been suspected of stealing from the store; the loss prevention officers also said that there was a tan Mazda 626 that was left running in the area where Owens had been running.

Police conducted surveillance on the Mazda, and shortly after the incident in which Owens fled, a woman was seen entering and driving the vehicle, police said. The woman said that she had gotten a call from Owens, a family member, asking her to retrieve the Mazda; she denied knowing about any crime that had taken place, police said. 

Following a search, police said they found two large canvas bags in the trunk of the vehicle — identical to the bag recovered after Owens fled from Sears. The bags contained several items of clothing, which were later determined to be stolen.

According to police, the bags contained 68 stolen items — totaling a retail value of $6,521. Thirty-six of the items were from Sears ($1,573); 18 items were from Macy’s ($1,865); and 14 items were from LensCrafters ($3,084.

All of the items were returned to their respective stores. 

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 5 at 10:30 a.m. in front of District Justice Juanita Price.