Woonsocket Police Arrest Sears Employee, Boyfriend For Stealing From Auto Department

A Wooonsocket Sears employee and her boyfriend face felony larceny and conspiracy charges respectively for stealing more than $5,000 in batteries, tires and equipment from the store's auto department between March 23 and April 1.

On April 1 at 10:50 p.m., Woonsocket Police were called to the store at 1500 Diamond Hill Road by the company's loss prevention officer for a shoplifting investigation. While en route, dispatch advised officers the suspected theif was still in a green Saturn parked outside the building, according to officer David Bibeault's report.

Bibeault arrived on the scene and spoke with the car's occupant, Jonathan O'Connell, 21, of 17 Elbow Rock Road, Burrillville. He noted that O'Connel's car had two tires in the back seat and a car battery in the front passenger's seat. O'Connell told Bibeault he had bought the tires from someone off of Craigslist and intended to scrap them with the battery, but video footage provided by the store's loss prevention officer told a different story.

The loss prevention officer told police he'd begun watching the automotive department after receiving reports from the manager that merchandise was being taken from the store. After reviewing security footage of the department, he said he discovered a man had taken batteries, tires and miscellaneous merchandise from the automotive department on March 18 and March 27, to a car parked nearby the store. He said the man was O'Connell, the boyfriend of an employee, Bethany Cloutier, 20 60 Randall Road, Thompson, CT.

Earlier that evening, the loss prevention officer told police, he visited the store and found O'Connell's green Saturn outside. From his office, he observed O'Connell walk through the store, which was closed and unsupervised, and unlock the side door. Then he began to take 17 batteries and two tires from the store. 

Bibeault noted in his report that O'Connell was the man appearing in the videos. That evening, he had taken $2,535,75 in merchandise from the store, including 18 batteries, two tires and a battery charger. Over the course of all the thefts from the store, Bibeautl estimated more than $5,000 had been taken from the store over the course of all the recorded thefts. 

O'Connell was arrested, as was Cloutier, who was also at the store. O'Connell was charged with three felony counts of larceny, and three felony counts of conspiracy. Cloutier is being charged with three felony counts of conspiracy for aiding O'Connell.