Deputies who teamed up with Target and Wal-Mart have busted a stolen property racket, leading to the arrest of three people.
Kristine Hackett, 35, of Jordan Heights Drive in Lakeland, was taken into custody and charged with dealing and selling stolen property. The other suspects are, Timothy Sizemore, 25, of Kentucky, who was arrested on an out-of-state warrant of three counts of organized retail crime and Laura S. Messer, 23, of Lakeland, who has been charged with drug possession and an out-of-state warrant for unlawful shoplifting.
The investigation began in September after deputies received information that Hackett was selling stolen property on the website “Amazon” for profit. Undercover detectives arranged to meet Hackett at her home to sell “stolen” property, but upon their arrival they met Sizemore, who invited them inside, saying he would call Hackett to find out what she would agree to pay for the goods the detectives had to “sell.”
During the “sell” Sizemore showed undercover detectives how to circumvent the security locks at one retail store removing merchandise like a “piece of cake.” Sizemore bragged to detectives he would gladly have them accompany him to see him demonstrate his techniques.
Sizemore was arrested on a Kentucky Fugitive from Justice Warrant on September 30. During a post Miranda interview, Sizemore told detectives he and “several other people” stole property from local retail stores then sold the stolen property to Hackett who kept the property at her residence until she could sell the items on Amazon for a profit.
Even after Sizemore’s arrest, Hackett brokered with one of her boosters for another purchase, admitting to the booster, she was “nervous” about Sizemore’s arrest. On October 3, deputies executed an arrest warrant on Hackett’s home and arrested her. She admitted to selling the property on Amazon to make a profit. Hackett told detectives Sizemore brought her so much property she could not keep up with him so she referred him to another buyer.
As a result of this investigation, 20 retail theft cases from Target, Wal-Mart, Sam’s, Barnes and Noble stores in Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk Counties have been solved, Polk County deputies said.
