Tewksbury man nabbed for switching TV tags
Published on January 17th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - A Tewksbury man was arrested after he reportedly attempted to switch tags on a pair of television sets and steal away with an approximately $3000 high definition TV from B.J.'s Wholesale Company on Cedar Street.
Gentian Arifi, age 31, of 75 Lawrence Street, Tewksbury, was arrested for shoplifting and larceny over $250 after he was reportedly nabbed attempting to steal items from B.J. Wholesale at 2:31 p.m last Sunday afternoon.
According to police reports, Arifi was reportedly using a Burn-z-matic portable blowtorch, a set of razor blades and a magnet to remove a $1700 price tag from a smaller television set and switched price tags with a $3000 46-inch high definition television. Stoneham Police were summoned when the television size on the price tag didn't match the set being purchased by Arifi, and a search of the suspect revealed the tools reportedly used in the attempted theft.
A search of the suspect's care also revealed numerous receipts from retail stores with electronics' sections including Best Buy stores and other locations.
"We're in the process of trying to contact towns and stores to get an idea where else he might have pulled this," said Stoneham Police Lt. Rick McCarthy. "Judging by the tools he used to melt the glue on the price tags without damaging them and the receipts in his car, he's probably already done this quite a few times."
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