Crew of 1 Man and 3 Juveniles Arrested In Connection With a String of Liquor Heists Amounting to Over $72,000
Authorities arrested one man and three minors after connecting them to a string of liquor heists of over $72,000 in Virginia. (Photo: Armin Weigel/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
The Fairfax County Police Department announced Monday that a “crew” was arrested after authorities uncovered a link to a string of liquor heists amounting to over $72,000 in the state of Virginia. The crew consisted of one adult male and three minors who were targeting the state’s ABC stores.
The crew faces charges of stealing from 15 stores. Authorities allege they would load carts with pilfered alcohol and drive away in a vehicle before authorities arrived at the scene.
Fairfax County Police arrested a 27-year-old individual named Jomarice Evans over different charges, and law enforcement was able to connect Evans to the robberies. Evans is faced with charges of robbery, five counts of grand larceny, five counts of larceny with intent to sell, five counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, five counts of transportation of alcohol, destruction of property and organized retail theft.
The string of robberies Evans allegedly participated in ranged from March 14 to July 4.
It’s been a rough year for the Virginia ABC. The state-owned liquor store monopoly has faced financial setbacks and lawsuits.
Reports of a whistleblower suit from the company’s former director of retail operations made media headlines in March. Jennifer Burke, the former director of retail operations alleged that she faced retaliation and had enforcement agents following her after she reported millions of dollars in missing inventory.
Her lawsuit is just one of two whistleblower lawsuits filed against the organization. The second lawsuit was filed by the former assistant director of retail operations, Thomas Aruanno. Aruanno and Burke alleged that they found missing inventory amounting to $1.7 million and $1 million in inaccurate payments to a vendor.
Burk alleged in her lawsuit that the Virginia ABC sent armed agents to “interrogate” employees of the stores she visited.
The Richmond Times Dispatch reported on Tuesday that the Virginia ABC was trying to stabilize after experiencing a drop in sales of nearly $40 million. The outlet reported that the Virginia ABC suggested its profits were on the up and up for the year, and the company claimed it was lowering its expenses.
“Our objective is to generate greater profit, so we’re not going to stop,” Chief Administrative Officer David Alfano said according to The Richmond Times Dispatch.
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