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Cleaning workers arrested in Kmart theft
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Amada Peralta Zapata, left, and Juana Gaeta Robles, right
Two former Mesa Kmart cleaning crew workers told authorities they had stolen an estimated $50,000 in merchandise from the retailer prior to their arrests Sunday morning after store employees saw them trying to leave the store with items without paying.
Amado Peralta Zapata, 25, and Juana Gaeta Robles, 45, were arrested on suspicion of felony theft at the Kmart store at 1445 S. Power Road about 12:15 p.m. Sunday, according to police.
Peralta Zapata and Gaeta Robles, who are believed to be illegal immigrants from Mexico, had been working on the store’s cleaning crew for the last eight months, according to a police report.
They told police they stole items from the store every day without paying for the last eight months, and were sending the items to family in Mexico and selling them to friends, according to the police report.
Store employees from the loss prevention department had the man and woman under video surveillance over the weekend and they were recorded on footage stealing an estimated $1,000 worth of items over three days when they took items off the shelves without paying, police said.
When police executed a search warrant in Peralta Zapata’s and Gaeta Robles’ residence, they confiscated dozens of boxes of stolen property including CDs and DVDs as well as clothes and toiletries, according to police.
Kmart employees at the scene of the search estimated the dollar amount of the allegedly stolen items to be valued at $20,000, police said.
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