Crime & Safety
Hard Target: Months of Thievery Finally Thwarted in Target-Craigslist Scheme
Police track down and arrest one of two alleged thieves said to have robbed Target stores in Wisconsin and Illinois for several months and resold the merchandise on Craigslist.
Authorities ended a nearly five-month investigation Wednesday by arresting half of a two-person team suspected of stealing about $18,000 worth of merchandise from Target stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Tina B. Laukant, 34, of the 3700 block of Orin Road in Madison, Wis., was arrested around 9:15 p.m. in the parking lot of Super Target, 7300 191st St. in Tinley Park, and was charged with felony retail theft.
Police were still searching Thursday for Jason D. Gehrke, 29, of the 2400 block of Independence Lane in Madison, they said, but charges for him had been approved by the Will County state's attorney.
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Four of Target's asset protection investigators began tracking Laukant and Gehrke in June, according to the police report. Investigators said they found that the two had committed 16 retail thefts between April and August.
"(An investigator) told me (Gehrke) makes a profit by selling the stolen merchandise on Craigslist," a Tinley Park police officer wrote in the report.
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The investigators conducted surveillance at Laukant's home around 1 p.m. Wednesday, they said, eventually following her and Gehrke to a Target store in Warrenville, Ill. The two didn't steal anything there and instead went to the Target in Tinley Park.
Around 8:50 p.m., investigators conducted "physical surveillance" on the duo as they removed three Norton Anti-Virus software programs, one Photoshop software program and a tent, the report said.
When store security tried to detain Gehrke outside the front doors of the store, he ran toward Best Buy, leaving the items behind. The items totaled $399.95, according to the report.
Cops found Laukant waiting in the back of the parking lot in a Dodge Intrepid. In the car were three Food Saver vacuum seal systems, two 7-inch LCD portable screens, one Dyson Digital Slim vacuum and an HP laptop computer.
All of the items—with the exception of the computer—came up stolen and could be linked to Target stores, investigators said. Police also confiscated three cellular phones and $712 in cash, according to the report.
Police were still working on tracking down Gehrke around 4 p.m. Thursday.
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