Suffolk County DA charges 18 in $110,000 retail theft crackdown

Locked-up merchandise, extra security and higher prices have become the visible cost of organized theft at Suffolk County stores, and prosecutors said 18 alleged serial shoplifters were charged after a countywide crackdown tied to more than $110,000 in losses. The case, officials said, shows how retail theft has moved beyond isolated shoplifting into repeat criminal crews that hit the same chains and shopping centers over and over.

The Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said the effort grew out of the Retail Protection Partnership, a program launched in October 2023 as shoplifting climbed across New York State and the country. The partnership includes many of the county’s biggest retailers, among them Home Depot, Walmart, TJX Companies, Nordstrom Rack, Stop & Shop, Kohl’s, CVS Health, Walgreens, Harbor Freight, Wegmans, Rite Aid, H&M, BJ’s, Macy’s, Lowe’s, Gap, Target, Best Buy, Burlington, Ralph Lauren, Victoria’s Secret and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Prosecutors said the 18 defendants were linked to 80 larcenies. The office said Suffolk recorded 6,041 larcenies in 2024, 5,774 in 2025 and 1,950 so far in 2026, figures officials are using to show how aggressively repeat theft has been affecting the county’s retail base. District Attorney Ray Tierney said his office is charging alleged recidivist theft defendants with felonies whenever possible to try to stop the pattern before it spreads.

The losses were not limited to small-ticket grab-and-go items. One alleged theft involved about $18,000 in power tools, and another involved about $8,000 in merchandise, according to the case details. Home Depot’s Nicolas Guttman said organized retail theft can be highly coordinated, with spotters helping crews move goods that are later resold online, including on Facebook Marketplace.

Tierney said the damage reaches beyond the register. He said shoplifting pushes up prices, forces merchants to lock products behind glass, and can lead to layoffs or store departures when losses become too much for retailers to absorb. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the drop in shoplifting incidents shows the partnership is having an effect, while U.S. Marshal Vincent F. DeMarco backed the county effort and said federal marshals will help local and state agencies apprehend alleged thieves.

For Suffolk merchants, the crackdown is now a test of whether the county can turn a broad retail strategy into a real break in the cycle of repeat theft.