INDIAN RIVER COUNTY – More than $3,100 worth of stolen merchandise from various stores at the Vero Beach Outlets was recovered after a store manager at Tommy Hilfiger caught the accused shoplifters leaving her store Wednesday afternoon.
David Durden, 24, of Fort Pierce, and Terrica Lacey, 26, of an unspecified address, were both arrested in connection to retail thefts at the outlet mall located in the 1800 block of 94th Drive in Vero Beach.
According to the arrest affidavits, footage from security cameras at Tommy Hilfiger show Durden concealing one shirt in his pants and Lacey concealing eight shirts in her purse. Both suspects left the store without paying for the clothes.
Durden reportedly denied stealing the shirt and told police what they saw on the surveillance video was him “scratching himself.”
The Tommy Hilfiger merchandise in question was recovered in Lacey’s vehicle along with brand new merchandise taken from Carter’s, Beall’s Outlet, and Levi.
Other items from “various stores around the Treasure Coast” found in the vehicle are also suspected as stolen, according to authorities.
A Polo Ralph Lauren store manager reported he observed the same subjects enter the store and take items to the dressing room. According to the manager, the subjects were alerted and “left quickly,” but several items were found in the dressing room with tags cut off “in preparation to be stolen,” the report states.
Durden and Lacey were accompanied by a third person who was not seen actively participating in the thefts. Authorities have not identified that person.
Durden was released on $500 bond and faces one misdemeanor charge of shoplifting/retail theft.
Lacey is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond and faces a charge of retail theft property value over $300.