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Orangetown Police say they responded to a Pearl River ShopRite store (26 North Middletown Road) on Thursday, April 18 around 6:30 p.m. on the report of a suspicious male roaming the aisles without making a purchase.
Loss prevention had allegedly spotted the suspect and told officers that a man with a matching description had stolen a purse from an affiliated Shop Rite in Paramus, New Jersey on an earlier date, according to police.
The suspect was then observed removing a purse from an unaccompanied shopping cart near the deli counter and exiting the store, police say.
Officers observed the incident and radioed the suspect’s description to corresponding officers, who detained the suspect outside of the store’s exit with the stolen purse in his possession, according to police.
The suspect was arrested and identified as Richard Koch, 36, of Stony Point.
Police say Koch’s driving privileges in the state of New York had been suspended and that he had been operating a motor vehicle prior to the arrest.
Koch was transported to Orangetown Police Headquarters and charged with:
- Fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony
- Fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a felony
- First-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, a misdemeanor
Koch was arraigned at the Orangetown Justice Court and is scheduled to return on Monday, May 6.
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