Philadelphia Woman Convicted of $35,000 in Thefts From South Jersey Verizon Stores

By ANTHONY BELLANO

A Philadelphia woman has been convicted of burglary and theft of more than $35,000 in cell phones from two Verizon stores in Glassboro and Washington Township in July and August of 2013.

Fatima M. Aviles, 23, was found guilty of four counts of third-degree burglary and three counts of theft, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 14.

He was found guilty of using a key issued to employees that would open a number of stores in the New Jersey/Southeastern Pennsylvania area to enter stores on four different dates.

Two Verizon employees identified Aviles using surveillance video from two stores in Glassboro and Washington Township. The person in the video is seen taking phones from the store stockrooms and stuffing them in a duffel bag and backpack.

The employees said Aviles was a friend of a woman who they had worked with at Pennsylvania Verizon stores and who left her job without returning her store key. Both had met Aviles through that employee. The employee was not the thief in the videos, they said.

Aviles’ attorney disputed this claim during the trial, claiming the thief was the former employee.

“There’s going to be no evidence Ms. Aviles enriched herself by these phones,” Attorney Martin Eisenberg said.

The ex-employee “had the key to get in there,” Eisenberg said in closing his case. “She had to know the layout.”

Aviles elected not to testify.

Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Dianna Reed-Rolando said the height difference between Aviles and the former employee proved Aviles was the thief. Aviles is 5’1” and the former employee is 5’8”.

Glassboro Police Det. Michael Powell testified that his investigation determined the thief would be 5’1”.

A Verizon regional manager testified “smart phones” valued at $35,067 were stolen in the first three burglaries. A lock change prevented entry to a storage room during the fourth break-in, he said. None of the phones were recovered.