CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — Police in Cumberland County have charged a Romanian man accused of being part of an ongoing three-person shoplifting conspiracy.
Antonio Sardaru, 48, was arrested in Baltimore on March 27 following a traffic stop. The blue Honda Odyssey he was driving was labeled as a "felony vehicle" in connection to a series of organized retail thefts conducted in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
One such theft occurred at a Weis Market on the 5100 block of Simpson Ferry Road in Lower Allen Township on February 15, according to police.
In that incident, employees at the store reported to police that they had checked their health and beauty section after hearing about a group of suspected retail theft suspects from other loss prevention associates from other stores in the region.
In doing so, the employees found that group of three suspects stole over-the-counter medicines and makeup totaling approximately $1,246.89, according to police.
The store provided video to police that showed a blue Dodge Grand Caravan bearing an unknown VA license plate arriving at the store around 5:30 p.m., police said.
A male driver and two female passengers are seen on video entering the store, according to police. The male allegedly acted as a lookout while the female suspects stole and concealed several items of merchandise, police said.
The suspects then left the store without paying, according to police.
The male suspect was a middle-aged white male wearing a dark colored flat cap, blue surgical mask, dark navy jacket and dark pants, police said. One of the female suspects was a younger white woman with brown hair, wearing a black dress with a silver pendant on her chest and hoop earrings.
The second woman appeared to be middle-aged, wearing a dark maroon Afghan on her head and a black shawl with a flowered dress underneath. She also had brown hair, and her face was partially covered with a blue surgical mask, police said.
Investigators later discovered a registration plate that allowed them to determine the suspects were operating three different minivans that were all involved in an organized retail theft ring in three states. The vehicle involved in the Weis Market incident was entered as a "felony vehicle" in law enforcement networks, police said.
After his arrest in Baltimore, investigators identified Sardaru as the male suspect in the Lower Allen Township incident. He allegedly identified his co-conspirators in the retail theft ring as Ovidiu Sardaru and her mother, Monica Sardaru.
All three suspects matched the physical descriptions provided by employees at the Lower Allen Township Weis Market, along with the appearances of those seen on the surveillance footage taken from the February 15 incident, police said.
A warrant has been issued for Sardaru's arrest in the case.
