Inset left to right: Hala Kamel and Afnane Kamel (Polk County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Target where the Kamel sisters allegedly stole thousands of dollars in merchandise in Davenport, Fla. (Google Maps).
Two Florida women, sisters, were recently arrested after a shopping trip to a big box retailer ended in theft and a belated mea culpa that could not keep them out of jail, Sunshine State authorities say.
Afnane Kamel, 19, and Hala Kamel, 32, stand accused of one count each of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
On Nov. 4, deputies arrived at a Target on Grandview Parkway in Davenport – a small town located roughly 35 miles southwest of Orlando – in response to a reported retail theft, according to an affidavit obtained by LawCrime.
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The sisters were already in custody at the loss prevention office when deputies arrived just before 9 p.m., according to the affidavit.
Then, a store employee told law enforcement the defendants walked in around 7:30 p.m., based on surveillance footage, authorities say.
"[The employee] stated he witnessed Hala and Afnane to be making rapid selections throughout the store and placing them into one of two Target shopping carts they both had in their possession at the time of the incident," the affidavit reads. "[The employee] stated he witnessed Hala and Afnane attempt to conceal some of the items in the shopping carts by taking Target shopping bags, splitting them up, and laying them on top of the items they placed in the carts."
The employee described an attempt by both defendants to conceal two shopping carts "full of unpaid Target merchandise with the shopping bags" before "walking to the front entrance of the store," according to the affidavit.
Just before 8:30 p.m., the pair were seen on surveillance footage "walking past all final points of sale, and continuing towards the front entrance doors with the concealed shopping carts," the affidavit alleges. Then, the employee himself is seen on the video stopping both sisters and escorting them to the loss prevention office.
In sum, the total value of the merchandise allegedly stolen by the duo was $2,487.70 – before tax – according to the sheriff's office.
But the siblings said they could afford it, deputies say.
"Upon initial contact with Hala and Afnane they spontaneously stated they could pay the amount owed in order to get out of trouble with law enforcement," the affidavit goes on.
After being read their Miranda rights, both defendants allegedly "admitted to taking the items from Target" and said they "decided to steal the items while in the store and not before," the affidavit continues.
The defendants were subsequently arrested and detained in the Polk County Jail. They were both granted and posted bond – though in slightly different amounts – on Nov. 12, court records show.
"When you walk into a store and try to leave with nearly $2,500 worth of unpaid merchandise, that's not a mistake—that's a crime," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. "Thanks to a vigilant associate who saw something and said something, our deputies were able to respond quickly and make the arrest."