COURTHOUSE – A Philadelphia man is headed to jail for his role in a conspiracy to steal designer clothing from a Limerick mall by using bags adapted to defeat retail security sensors.
James Cox, 30, of Cedar Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to nine-to-23-months in the county jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit retail theft and unlawful possession of retail instruments in connection with attempted thefts from a Ralph Lauren Polo store at the Philadelphia Premium Outlet mall in Limerick in March.
Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the matter, also ordered Cox to complete 12 hours of community service as a condition of the sentence. Cox has been in jail since his arrest on March 22.
Cox’s alleged co-conspirator, Rondelle Copes, of Race Street, Philadelphia, is still awaiting court action on retail theft-related charges, according to court records.
An investigation of Cox and Copes, according to court papers, began about 5:45 p.m. March 22 when township police were dispatched to the Ralph Lauren store for a report of a retail theft, involving a man and a woman, in progress.
“The actors were said to be in possession of a ‘booster bag’ or a bag commonly used to commit retail theft,” alleged Limerick Township Police Officer Patrick Roche.
So-called “booster bags” are bags that are specially adapted to defeat sensors that are placed on merchandise to prevent theft.
Store employees told investigators that Cox, carrying a booster bag, entered the store with Copes and they remained together in the store, according to the criminal complaint. Employees claimed Cox attempted to conceal himself behind a clothing rack while he placed several rugby shirts inside the bag. Copes also was observed by employees selecting various items throughout the store, according to the arrest affidavit.
As the couple left the store, Copes allegedly took possession of the bag from Cox and a store employee followed the pair to the parking lot and a white Chevrolet Malibu, according to the criminal complaint. Copes allegedly put the booster bag in the rear seat of the vehicle before the couple left the parking lot in the car, according to police.
Armed with a description of the vehicle allegedly operated by the theft suspects, police stopped the Malibu on Route 422 near the Sanatoga exit as it left the shopping mall. Copes was in the driver’s seat while Cox was in the passenger seat, police said.
During a search of the vehicle, police found 158 items of merchandise, with a total value of $9,565, still on hangers and containing the theft deterrent sensors, court papers indicate.
“The merchandise had been stored inside a number of trash bags,” Roche alleged.
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