Two members of Kmart cleaning crew charged with theft
Peters Township police arrested two McKeesport men for taking more than $3,000 worth of merchandise from the Kmart on Washington Road in McMurray in a four-week span.
According to police, Vance Taril Brown, 25, of 2929 Jersey St., and Brian Allen Harrison, 24, of 2602 Milburn St., were arrested July 16. Both men were employed by KBS Cleaning, a national cleaning service, to clean the store at night. The pair had been observed, beginning June 25, on video on multiple occasions removing items from the store without paying for them.
Peters chief Harry Fruecht said the men would first remove security devices from the merchandise to avoid setting off alarms and then transport the items out of the store. Some of the items taken since June 25 include bottles of perfume, folding knives, a Monster Moto mini bike, carpenter pants, baseball pants, a Sylvania portable DVD player, a Samsung Blu Ray player, a sound bar, multiple televisions and sanding sponges. Total value of the items taken was $3,257.64, Fruecht said.
“They had been working there about a month,” Fruecht said of Brown and Harrison.
Police said when they arrived at the store, $520 in merchandise was discovered in Harrison’s car. An additional $360 in merchandise was found hidden in the pair’s work hand cart and cleaning machine.
Brown and Harrison were both charged with retail theft and tampering with security devices. Because Harrison’s car was used, he is charged with receiving stolen property, police said.
Both men were arraigned July 16 before District Judge James Ellis, who set bond at $10,000 cash for each. The pair was taken to the Washington County Jail.