Two women are accused of conspiring to rob Target stores in several cities, including Greenwood, and selling the items to a third party.
Brittany N. Woods, 33, of Louisville, Kentucky, and Alyssa M. Hodges, 29, of Jeffersonville, are both charged with Level 6 felony counts of organized retail theft and theft.
Greenwood Police were called to Target, 895 S. State Road 135, on Nov. 29 after an asset protection officer said they wanted to report a Sept. 2 theft. At around 7:07 p.m. Sept. 2, two women went into the store’s electronics aisle, selected multiple electronics, removed security wraps using a magnet and concealed the items in reusable Target bags. Once concealed, the women exited the store without paying, leaving in a white Volkswagen SUV, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Johnson Circuit Court on Jan. 23.
About $2,140 worth of items were stolen, the affidavit shows.
The asset protection officer later learned the identities of the two women suspected in the thefts following arrests and identifications made at other Targets in Columbus, Bloomington, Plainfield and Indianapolis. They were also suspected in a theft at a Target in Lexington, Kentucky, the affidavit says.
Greenwood detectives requested information about the Columbus case, along with body camera footage, on Dec. 5. They also spoke with an asset protection officer at the Columbus Target, according to the affidavit.
They then spoke with Woods, who was one of the women suspected in the theft, who allegedly admitted that she and Hodges targeted specific stores for specific items. These items would then be sold to a “Jim” in Louisville, who then sold them online using an eBay account. A pawn records database inquiry found several instances of Woods and Hodges pawning items to a Louisville-based account with “Jim” in its username, according to the affidavit.
Searches into both Woods’ and Hodges’ past criminal history indicated they had both been arrested for theft several times. However, the dispositions for these incidents were not listed, the affidavit shows.
Woods was booked into the Johnson County jail on a warrant Feb. 5, and pled not guilty during a Feb. 8 hearing. A warrant has been issued for Hodges’ arrest.
As for charges in other jurisdictions, Woods is charged with conversion, a Class A misdemeanor, in Bartholomew Superior Court 2. A pretrial hearing in that case is set for 3 p.m March 20.
