Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said Monday that police in Jonesboro, Ark., arrested 16 people for alleged retail theft last week. According to the announcement, police said they pinpointed five additional retail crime suspects, who they did not arrest during this blitz.
Among those arrested, the state brought “more than 60 charges…about half of which were felony charges.” In Arkansas, suspects become eligible for a felony if they steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise. The class of the felony is determined by how much the stolen merchandise is worth.
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According to the attorney general, other charges included drug possession, evidence tampering and forgery.
The attorney general said impacted stores included two Walmart locations, two Walgreens stores, a Target, a Dollar Tree, a TJ Maxx, a HomeGoods, a Lowe’s, a Home Depot, an Academy Sports, a Kohl’s and a Burlington Coat Factory.
Rick Elliott, chief of the Jonesboro Police Department, told Sourcing Journal that the five additional suspects have not yet been arrested, but the department is seeking warrants for them.
Griffin said the operation is the latest example of the state’s interest in combating retail crime, an issue that retailers consistently cite when discussing shrink.
“This operation shows our continued commitment to eradicating this type of crime in Arkansas. We are working with law enforcement agencies and private sector partners across the state to gather intelligence, arrest perpetrators, and ultimately hold bad actors accountable,” Griffin said in a statement.
Elliott said it’s clear that Griffin has made retail crime an issue of importance during his tenure.
“We’re pleased with the collaboration efforts of our retail merchants and the attorney general’s office. This [issue] is something new that [Griffin] has started since he took over, and he’s made it one of his top priorities across the state,” Elliott told Sourcing Journal. “I’m pleased that Jonesboro is one of the first agencies in the state to participate in this joint effort.”
Elliott further noted that the Jonesboro police have collaborated with other forces throughout the state and in Memphis, Tenn., about 60 miles away.
Arkansas, like other states, has recently worked to tighten its theft laws, even extending to cargo theft. Earlier this year, the state legislature passed a bill that would see cargo theftsters serving enhanced sentences if convicted. Another bill in the same retail crime package also created a framework to more robustly charge those involved in organized retail crime.
Shannon Newton, president of the Arkansas Trucking Association, said at the time that the package would help disincentivize retail crime throughout the state.
“By recognizing that organized crime operates throughout the supply chain, from retail stores to transportation networks, this collaboration has produced meaningful legislation that will better protect Arkansas businesses and consumers. We remain committed to working with our partners to develop practical solutions to the challenges facing our industry,” Newton said in a statement in March.
Griffin said in his Monday statement that the state has made organized retail crime a priority since 2023; since then, officers have recovered more than $600,000 in stolen merchandise and arrested 44 suspects.
Late last month, his office announced that a retail crime suspect the state had been pursuing for several months would be charged with Class D felonies.
“Sasha Rena Ziegler, 32, of Little Rock, surrendered Wednesday to the Little Rock Criminal Court after being at large on a warrant issued for her arrest. The warrant was the result of an investigation by my office into multiple incidents of organized retail crime at a Marshalls store in Little Rock. Ziegler has been charged with two counts of theft of property, Class D felonies,” Griffin said in a statement.
