Bluffton’s True Religion Store hit by theft — again

A Bluffton clothing store was the victim of theft again March 16 — the sixth such theft since November — when four women took $3,300 in items before being caught by Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies.

The store manager at the Tanger Outlets 1 True Religion Store said two black females entered the store around 2:20 p.m. and began “piling things up” around the store without looking at price tags, according to a Sheriff’s Office report. The manager offered to hold the items for the women at the register multiple times, and each time they refused.

About 10 minutes later, two other women entered the store and began “distracting the staff” by asking questions and trying items on, the report said.

The pair who were asking questions then each purchased a tank top as the two who first had entered the store grabbed a pile of clothing and ran away, the report said.

The store’s assistant manager chased the four women and saw them drive away in a white sedan. A nearby deputy spotted the vehicle and pulled the women over. He noted the smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle, the report said.

Inside the vehicle, deputies found stolen items valued at $3,384.

All four women were charged with shoplifting. One of the women had a warrant for her arrest on a separate shoplifting charge from Mount Pleasant and a bench warrant from the Charleston Police Department for failure to appear on another shoplifting charge, the report said.

Another woman was additionally charged with giving false information to law enforcement after she allegedly gave a false name.

The theft marks the sixth time the store has reported a large theft in recent months.

On Jan. 27, the store reported over $3,000 in men’s jeans stolen by a man who grabbed several stacks of the pants and ran out the front door.

On Dec. 29, the store reported being robbed of $5,000 in upscale clothing by four women who got away.

Two days prior, the store had been hit with a $500 theft by two men who entered the store wearing hooded sweatshirts and grabbed a stack of shirts off a shelf before getting away.

On Nov. 17, two suspects entered the store and stuffed clothing into black bags before they ran in the direction of Bluffton Parkway, taking $10,000 worth of merchandise with them.

On Nov. 7, a Columbia man was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting after he allegedly sprinted from the store with $3,000 worth of clothing.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Bluffton’s True Religion Store hit by theft — again."