VIDEO: 18 Charged After $110K Retail Theft Crackdown In Suffolk County: DA

COMMACK, NY — Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney's Retail Protection Partnership has expanded after a series of targeted enforcement efforts led to 18 accused serial shoplifters being charged with felony offenses, the DA said Monday.

The individuals are accused of collectively committing 80 larcenies from five retailers, causing more than $110,000 in losses, prosecutors said.

Each individual was charged with at least one felony, and three were charged with second-degree robbery, a Class C violent felony, after they were accused of using physical force to steal merchandise, prosecutors said.

Tierney presented the results of the program on Monday at The Home Depot on Crooked Hill Road in Commack, where he was joined by representatives of major retailers, Suffolk County police officials and members of his office.

The Retail Protection Partnership, which Tierney launched in October 2023, was created in response to rising shoplifting rates in New York and across the country, prosecutors said.

The partnership is aimed at identifying repeat offenders, building stronger cases and moving beyond misdemeanor petit larceny charges when legally possible.

“What we are doing differently in Suffolk County is charging alleged recidivist theft defendants with felonies wherever possible in order to deter them from committing repeated thefts,” Tierney said. “As consumers, we pay for the thefts of others in the form of higher prices, products being locked behind bars or glass, and with lost jobs when retailers move out of communities due to constant theft.”

The partnership now includes more than 20 retailers, prosecutors said, including Home Depot, Walmart, TJX Company, Nordstrom Rack, Stop & Shop, Kohl’s, CVS Health, Walgreens, Harbor Freight, Wegmans, Rite Aid, H&M, BJ’s, Macy’s, Lowe’s, Gap Company, Target, Best Buy, Burlington, Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

“The Retail Protection Partnership is a coordinated effort between law enforcement and retailers to reduce theft and protect businesses in Suffolk County,” Tierney said Monday.

The program, Tierney said, relies partly on “aggregation,” a legal strategy that allows prosecutors to add together the value of multiple thefts to support felony charges.

He said the approach can elevate cases from misdemeanor petit larceny to felony grand larceny when repeat thefts involve the same stores or occur on the same dates.

Another strategy involves trespass notices, prosecutors said. Retailers, with assistance from Suffolk County police, can notify repeat shoplifters that they are no longer permitted inside a store. If a person returns after being served, prosecutors may pursue additional charges, including third-degree burglary, a felony, Tierney said.

Tierney said the U.S. Marshals Service has also joined the partnership to help apprehend defendants wanted in connection with repeat retail theft cases. Over the past two weeks, U.S. marshals assisted the DA Squad in arresting nine of the 18 defendants, prosecutors said.

Tierney said Monday those nine suspects were wanted in Suffolk County for 48 theft-related crimes, including 20 burglary charges tied to trespass notice violations and 19 grand larceny counts.

Eight other high-impact repeat offenders were arrested and charged through aggregation in what Tierney described as a plot to steal high-end coffee makers.

Those eight defendants collectively committed 20 larcenies from four retailers, resulting in more than $20,000 in losses, Tierney said.

The DA’s office showed video clips Monday that Tierney said depicted some of the charged thefts. Prosecutors said clips showed a defendant, who is accused of stealing approximately $18,000 in assorted power tools from Home Depot between May 8 and May 12. Prosecutors said additional clips showed another defendant and another person, who had not been apprehended, stealing approximately $8,000 worth of power tools from Home Depot between March 7 and March 30.

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“We’re not talking about individuals who commit a crime once or twice and realize they’ve made a mistake,” Tierney said. “We’re talking about professional thieves, professional thieves who use the laws passed by the legislature to exploit the system and commit crime after crime after crime without repercussion."

Tierney said retail theft is often organized, with people working in pairs and selling stolen merchandise through secondary markets, including Facebook Marketplace and other online platforms.

“They’re working with two people,” Tierney said. “If a representative from the store tries to stop them, the person who doesn’t have [the merchandise] goes and runs interference, and the individual with the stolen merchandise leaves.”

Previous investigations by Tierney's office have shown stolen merchandise can be ordered, warehoused, inventoried and resold through organized networks.

“They’re going out in an organized fashion," Tierney said. "They’re bringing the merchandise in. It’s being warehoused and inventoried and then sold on the secondary market.”

Tierney said thieves often target merchandise that is expensive, easy to steal and easy to resell, including power tools, power washers, metal coil and coffee makers.

Before the initiative began, Tierney said Suffolk County had only about six shoplifting cases per year elevated to felony burglary charges. The figure has risen to 24 burglary cases this year alone. Tierney said the cases are not about people stealing basic necessities.

“It’s not about need. It’s about greed,” Tierney said. “Those individuals don’t need 28 handsaws each.”

Petit larcenies in Suffolk County declined from 6,041 in 2024 to 5,774 in 2025, prosecutors said. There have been 1,950 petit larcenies so far in 2026, putting the county on track for approximately 4,800 by the end of the year, prosecutors said.

“While retail theft may not always receive the same attention as other crimes, its impact is significant affecting everyone from businesses to our communities,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said in a statement. “The decrease in shoplifting incidents demonstrates that our efforts are working and we will continue to support innovative strategies while strengthening partnerships to ensure we are combatting retail theft.”

Nick Guttman, a regional asset protection manager for Home Depot, said organized retail crime affects stores, employees, customers and communities across the country. He said retailers are not only concerned with merchandise losses, but also with the safety of workers and customers.

“Retail theft is often viewed as a property crime, but organized retail crime is much more than that,” Guttman said Monday. “These are sophisticated enterprises that steal merchandise and resell it for profit, often operating across multiple jurisdictions and fueling broader criminal activity.”

Guttman said Home Depot has invested in safety measures, employee training and asset protection efforts, but said collaboration with prosecutors and law enforcement is critical because organized retail theft is not a problem any single company can solve alone.

“The impact is significant," Guttman said. "Organized retail crime threatens the safety of our retail associates and customers. It drives up costs throughout the retail ecosystem and places additional burdens on law enforcement and prosecutors working to dismantle these networks.”

Guttman said the financial loss is not the company’s only concern.

“From a monetary standpoint, that’s minimal,” Guttman said. “What we’re most worried about is the safety of our associates and the safety of our colleagues.”

Tierney said retailers have largely taken a hands-off approach, relying on surveillance, reporting and coordination with law enforcement rather than expecting employees to physically stop suspects.

“We’d much rather have professionals arrest these individuals than civilians,” Tierney said. “That’s better for us, and obviously we don’t want to see anyone hurt, and the stores don’t want to see any of their employees get hurt.”

The 18 defendants charged in the recent enforcement actions:

• Shawn Harvey, 27, of Hempstead, faces a top count of second-degree robbery, a Class C violent felony.

• Shaquan Humphrey, 32, of Hempstead, faces a top count of second-degree robbery, a Class C violent felony.

• Malik Jones, 37, of Hempstead, faces a top count of second-degree robbery, a Class C violent felony.

• Matthew Verderosa, 29, of Selden, faces a top count of third-degree burglary, a Class D felony.

• Ronald Foster, 52, of West Babylon, faces a top count of third-degree burglary, a Class D felony.

• Jessica Rose Margiotta, 38, of Queens, faces a top count of third-degree burglary, a Class D felony.

• Takeya Green, 38, of Hempstead,faces a top count of third-degree burglary, a Class D felony.

• Julia Calderone, 38, of Staten Island, faces a top count of third-degree grand larceny, a Class D felony.

• Izaya Carrasco, 18, of Selden, faces a top count of third-degree grand larceny, a Class D felony.

• Jorge Garcia-Reyes, 37, of Queens, faces a top count of third-degree grand larceny, a Class D felony.

• Willie White, 60, of Hempstead, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

• Michaelangelo Scurto, 46, of Queens, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

• Jusmyne King, 21, of Hempstead, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

• Jakwasia McCorvey, 27, of Bellport, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

• Otis Key, 43, of Hempstead, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

• Corey Young, 31, of Manorville, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

• Jasmine Brown, 28, of Bellport, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.
• Timothy Catone, 35, of East Patchogue, faces a top count of fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony.

Tierney said additional retailers, including small businesses, can join the partnership.

“The bottom line in all of this is, don’t steal in Suffolk County,” Tierney said. “Law enforcement will find you. You will be prosecuted, notwithstanding the hurdles that have been put in place for repeat offenders. We will seek upstate prison sentences for your conduct.”