Woman charged in alleged retail theft ring

RADNOR, Pa. (FOX 29) - A woman has been charged in connection with an alleged retail theft ring that ended in Radnor.

"I knew my inventory very well and I looked over and a piece was missing," said Pam Ferber.

A high-end boutique in Wayne is a shopper's paradise. It has pricey purses, costly coats and fancy furs.

Ferber is the manager and says two women came into Jacques Ferber Furs on East Lancaster Avenue Thursday and saw something they liked and stole it.

"I did say to her you have my coat and that's when they decided to leave," said Pam who knew before that something wasn't right about the duo.

"They're very active and have you jumping around like do you have this, in another size and how about this. So the distractor keeps you very distracted," she said.

Police say 55-year-old Tamala Tucker is one of the women. Pam says Tucker denied having it and left after she confronted her. Pam got a good look at the car and took a picture of the license plate.

Sergeant Dan Lunger with Radnor Township Police say officers stopped the car not far from the store and found much more than the fur coat inside.

"There were several trash bags in the back seat with clothes in them. New clothes some of which you could see still had the security devices on them," said Sergeant Lunger. He added, "Several of the clothing items had the security devices wrapped in tin foil which was defeating the security sensors at the various locations where the clothes were taken from."

Tucker was arrested and charged. Police say her 51-year-old sister and 79-year-old mother were also in the car but haven't been charged at this time. They're all from Maryland. Ferber doesn't believe she's seen the women in the store before.

"We know our customers. We're pretty familiar with people. We take care of their garments as well as sell them things so we see them regularly," she said.

Police say a second fur coat found in the car was stolen from the same store but from the Delaware location days ago. Delaware State Police are investigating that.

The other clothing included 36 pieces worth more than $10,000. Police don't know from which stores they were stolen. For more photos of the clothing, please click here.