Suspects use birthday bags to steal over $5K worth of items from CVS stores in Bucks, Montgomery counties
AMBLER, Pa. (CBS) — Authorities are looking for two people they are calling the "birthday bag bandits." The duo is accused of using birthday bags to steal more than $5,000 worth of merchandise from two separate CVS stores in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
Ambler Borough Police said the theft happened around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, at the CVS store at 272 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler. Police say the suspects used birthday bags from the store and loaded them with around $1,200 worth of merchandise. The two then drove off in a dark-colored sedan.
That same night, the two suspects are accused of committing the same crime and stealing about $4,000 in over-the-counter medicine and other items from a CVS at 1034 2nd Street Pike in Richboro. The two stores are about 35 minutes from each other.
Because the goods were taken in bags with the words "Happy Birthday" written on the outside, police are calling the suspects the "Birthday Bag Bandits."
Meanwhile, customers in Bucks County said the brazen theft has left them feeling uneasy.
"I feel sorry for those people, they have no morals," Debra Devlin, from Richboro, said. "Why are they doing that, because they don't have any money? Well, go get a job."
"You're afraid to go in and buy a gift bag now," Kathleen Gregory said. " It's just not right. We all work hard, and it's just not right."
Gregory said she is worried that with more than a hundred items being taken from this store alone, she could pay more for the things she buys.
"Absolutely. They have to recover their loss. So, it's not their fault they have to raise prices for people that are horrible and doing horrible things," she said.
"I'll do anything I can to help," Bonnie Laureno said. "Give me some flyers. I'll put them up. I'll post them."
CBS News Philadelphia reached out to CVS for a statement, but the company referred us to local police. Anyone with information about the thefts or the people involved is asked to call police immediately.