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Shoplifter gives police feeling of déjà vu
Cheektowaga Police Officers Chris Wachowiak and John Skonecki were only on duty for about one hour on January 3 when they arrested a Buffalo man for shoplifting. Imagine their surprise when they arrested the same man slightly more than two hours later for the same offense at a different store.
The officers were sent to a Tops supermarket in Thruway Plaza just before 5 p.m. to arrest a shoplifter who had been detained by a store manager after the man allegedly attempted to leave the premises with groceries that he had not purchased.
An off-duty Buffalo police officer who happened to be in the store at the time helped the manager stop the man, who was pushing a shopping cart full of groceries valued at more than $400.
Winford Tyes, 37, of Humboldt Parkway, Buffalo was arrested for petit larceny. He was booked at the Cheektowaga police station, then released at 6:35 p.m. on an appearance ticket.
"It's not uncommon for a defen- dant to be released on an appearance ticket for a misdemeanor such as shoplifting," said Skonecki.
Skonecki explained that a person's criminal history and sufficient identification help police determine whether to release the person.
Tyes left the station while Skonecki and Wachowiak returned to patrol.
At 7:10 p.m., Wachowiak and Skonecki were dispatched to a KMart department store on Walden Avenue to apprehend a shoplifter. Upon their arrival, Wachowiak and Skonecki arrested a familiar face: Tyes.
"Not you again," Skonecki recalled saying when he recognized Tyes from the earlier arrest.
This time, Tyes was being held by store security personnel, who stopped Tyes and found him in possession of three digital video disks.
According to Skonecki, Tyes was compliant and "resigned to the fact" that he had been apprehended a second time.
Skonecki said that police officers are dispatched to stores to arrest shoplifters on a "fairly routine" basis, but last week's encounter was a new experience for him and Wachowiak.
"In our combined 14 years, we have never arrested the same person for shoplifting twice in one shift," Skonecki said. "I'm sure it happens, but it's rare. After being nabbed a second time, he should probably consider a different line of work."
Skonecki and Wachowiak have both been on the police force for seven years.
Captain John Glascott estimated that there are between 5-10 shoplifting reports in Cheektowaga daily.
Glascott said that he remembers instances when persons have been arrested for driving while intoxicated and released, only to be arrested later in the night. However, he cannot recall a shoplifter being arrested twice in one day.
After his second booking of the evening, Tyes was remanded to the Erie County Holding Center.
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