A man and a woman from Bellefonte were charged last week with allegedly collaborating to steal hundreds of dollars of merchandise from a Patton Township store.
Police say Randy Martz and Sandy Martz, both 56, stole $214.88 worth of items from Wegman’s, 345 Colonnade Boulevard in December, according to a criminal complaint filed by Patton Township Police.
At about 5:15 p.m. on Dec. 9, officers responded to a call from a Wegman’s loss prevention employee about a possible retail theft in progress. The employee reportedly said a woman was taking items and concealing them in her purse while the man with her was walking closely by her side.
Police say they watched on surveillance cameras as the pair continued through the store and observed Sandy Martz selecting and concealing merchandise while Randy Martz ‘would stand very close to Sandy in an apparent attempt to hide her from other people’s line of sight as she concealed the items,’ according to the criminal complaint.
At one point, police allege that Sandy Martz dropped an item and Randy Martz picked it up off the floor and handed it to her.
Both allegedly walked out of the store without paying for any of the merchandise. Police found that Sandy Martz had a prior retail theft conviction.
Sandy Martz was charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft and receiving stolen property, both first-degree misdemeanors. Randy Martz was charged with conspiracy to commit retail theft. Both were arraigned by summons on Wednesday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 1.
