An Ohio man was arrested after allegedly attempting to disguise himself as a sales representative for the popular tool brand DeWalt in order to steal a cart full of tools from Home Depot.
How did he steal the tools?
Austintown, Ohio, authorities received a shoplifting complaint from the Home Depot on Mahoning Avenue on Monday.
When they responded to the scene, a Home Depot worker told police that he saw the suspect—37-year-old Joshua T. Huey—cutting open boxes of DeWalt tools.
According to the worker, Huey entered Home Depot earlier and claimed to be a DeWalt sales rep.
Huey allegedly broke a protective gate using bolt cutters to access the DeWalt tools. A worker claimed he loaded a flatbed cart with 23 items, including batteries, grinders, blowers, and saws. According to a report by WFMJ, the items totaled around $4,210.
Huey was charged with felony theft, vandalism, and possessing criminal tools.
According to an April report by Home Depot, the retailer has seen an uptick in “organized retail crime.” Alleged thieves will steal large volumes of products to resell them at a profit.
“It’s not the average person coming in and stealing one item and walking it out the door for personal consumption,” Scott Glenn, vice president of Asset Protection at Home Depot, said. “Not your typical opportunistic shoplifter.”
In the report, Home Depot stated that it has begun implementing additional asset protection strategies to combat high-volume theft at its stores.
However, Huey’s motive for allegedly stealing DeWalt tools is unknown.
Home Depot shoppers react
In a Facebook post by Local News 12 detailing the incident, Home Depot shoppers reacted to Huey’s disguise.
“Gotta give him props for being a Creative Criminal,” one wrote.
“Im actually kinda impressed…,” another said.
“Lol only in America,” a third joked.
“Wow. Just wow,” another commenter exclaimed.
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