LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas man is accused of stealing multiple inventory scanners from six Smith’s grocery stores across the valley over several months, according to an arrest report.
Thomas Ward is facing six counts of burglary of a business and six counts of grand larceny, documents showed.
On Sept. 26, 2022 around 10 p.m., a suspect walked into a Smith’s on Maryland Parkway, went into the employee-only area, and started rifling through desks, the report said. The suspect then took seven scanner devices, placed them in a grocery bag, and left the store four minutes later.
Each scanner was estimated to be valued at around $1,000.
On Oct. 4 around 10:30 p.m., a suspect walked into a Smith’s on N Rampart Boulevard, walked to the back room of the store, and took four scanners by concealing them under his clothing, the report said. The suspect then walked out of the store into the parking lot.
The scanners taken in that incident were valued at a total of around $3,150.
On Oct. 10 around 9:25 p.m., a suspect walked into a Smith’s on W Sahara Avenue, walked toward the back of the store to an order pickup area and took a scanner tablet used for the orders by putting it down the front of his pants. The suspect then walked toward a scanner charging area, took three of them by concealing them under his shirt, and left the store, the report said.
On Oct. 16 around 9:27 p.m., a suspect walked into a Smith’s on W Tropicana Avenue, walked into the order pickup area where the scanners were located, and left soon after.
On Oct. 30 around 7:51 p.m., a suspect walked into a Smith’s on W Warm Springs Road, entered a back room, rifled through employee belongings without taking anything, and walked into an upstairs office. The suspect was seen walking back downstairs and out of the store. There was no video surveillance available for the upstairs office, the report said.
It was unknown if the office had been locked, the report said, but five scanners that were in the office went missing. All five were valued at a total of $3,938.
On Jan. 1, 2023, around 8:55 p.m., a suspect walked into the same Smith’s on Tropicana as the Oct. 16 incident, walked directly to a manager’s office, and took two scanners. The suspect was leaving the office and ran into an employee who was walking in at the same time. The employee informed a manager and the suspect was asked to leave but did not return the scanners, the report said.
The scanners taken were valued at around $1,575.
The suspect in the Jan. 1 was identified as the same suspect involved in the other five thefts and later identified by police as Thomas Ward.
On Jan. 18, a Las Vegas police officer pulled Ward over during a traffic stop and identified him through his driver’s license.
Ward was later arrested outside a home on Feb. 5 where officers also identified a vehicle parked outside as matching the description of the vehicle used in the thefts.
Ward was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and appeared to have posted bail as of Friday. He is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on Feb. 14.