Three New York men are charged with stealing 39 iPods by stashing them in a special pair of oversized jeans that didn't trigger security detectors at a Target store, police said. "On the video you can see them walk out of the store cool as a cucumber," Riverdale Police Chief Dave Hansen said.
Police found maps of Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Las Vegas in their car, suggesting they had plans for stores elsewhere.
"This organized type of crime, these theft rings, are starting to expand out west from the major cities," said Riverdale police Lt. James Ebert.
He said two men distracted employees at a Target store in Riverdale, 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, while the other opened a display case and hid the iPods in his jeans Oct. 6.
"In his pants, yes he did, walking and clinking," Ebert said. "But he looks totally calm on the security video walking out of the store. We tried it. It's hard to do without making any noise unless you walk fairly smoothly."
The pants had bags on the inside that were lined with material that fooled magnetic detectors at the door, Hansen said. The pant legs were tied off with shoelaces.
They tried the same heist but failed about an hour later at a Target store in Centerville, Ebert said.
"A couple of customers saw what they were trying to do and kind of gave them a hard time," said Steve Major, a Davis County prosecutor.
Police were called, and the suspects' car was stopped as they tried to get on Interstate 15. Officers recovered the iPods, worth an estimated $15,000.
Hector Gonzalez, 34, Peter Sanchez, 24, and Daniel Garcia, 24, all from Bronx, New York, were charged with theft in Weber County and attempted theft in Davis County. Bail was set Wednesday at $20,000 for each man.
