Sears Under Siege? Two Shopliftings in Two Counties in Two Days

Shoplifters ransack Sears stores in Monmouth and Ocean Counties and, in both cases, suspects are charged within hours.

Toms River police credit tipsters with leading them to the Bayville suspect accused of swiping a Keurig coffeemaker from Sears in the Ocean County Mall on March 13. The arrest of Marcus F. Velazquez, 29, at a Puffin Glade home occurred at about 4 PM, less than five hours after the release of surveillance video from the store, police said.

The $189 appliance had been resold at a local business for $50 before the arrest, police said.

Velazquez is accused of whisking the coffeemaker out of the store, fending off two loss-prevention officers, and then knocking down one of them with his car. Police say the security officer sustained minor injuries

Velazquez was charged iwth robbery and held on $50,000 bail at the Ocean County Jail in Toms River.

On March 12, two Monmouth men were charged in the theft of power tools from Sears on Route 66 in Ocean Township shortly after their descriptions and information about their vehicle was relelased.

According to police, Marc Schiraldo, 36, of Freehold Borough, took the items from the store to the parking lot where he handed them to Aaron Morales, 32, of Neptune Township. Morales walked the tools back inside to return them for refunds, police said, adding that they're suspected of having tried it once before on the same day.

Schiraldo faces counts of shoplifting, criminal mischief and possession of burglar's tools. He was left in the Monmouth County Correctional Facility in Freehold in lieu of $7,500 bail, police said.

Morales was released on charges of receving stolen property and conspiracy, police said.

Authorities also seized their 2000 Nissan under state criminal forfeiture guidelines for its use in commission of a crime, police said.