‘Operation Naughty List’: Dozens arrested at Target, Walmart stores in retail theft crackdown
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By Connor Lomis and Jordan Gartner
Published: Jan. 1, 2026 at 3:49 AM GMT+7|Updated: Jan. 1, 2026 at 4:27 AM GMT+7
GASTONIA, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) – Authorities in North Carolina say dozens of people are facing charges in a weekslong operation targeting thefts at retail stores.
According to the Gastonia Police Department, 78 people were arrested at Target and Walmart stores during “Operation Naughty List.”
Police said the operation took place between Nov. 28 and Dec. 19, tracking thefts at well-known retail locations in Gastonia.
As part of the investigation, officers worked undercover, wearing plain clothes inside the stores to blend in with shoppers. The approach reportedly allowed authorities to identify thefts in real-time.
Authorities issued a total of 154 charges, including misdemeanor and felony larceny, possession of controlled substances, trespassing and outstanding warrants.
Police said they recovered or prevented the theft of $4,342.85 in retail merchandise, including one felony larceny valued at $735.
Investigators also seized illegal drugs, including fentanyl, narcotics, methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
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Woman who used Target self-checkout to steal more than $60,000 of items convicted of theft
Aziza Graves, 43, was convicted after prosecutors said she stole from the same Target store 120 times in just over a one year period.
A Northern California woman is facing more than three years in prison after being convicted of shoplifting more than $60,000 worth of items from Target using self-checkout.
Aziza Graves, 43, of San Francisco, was found guilty of one felony count of grand theft in violation and 52 misdemeanor counts of petty theft in a series of retail thefts occurring at one Target, according to a press release from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
The Target store is in a shopping center in San Francisco’s southwest neighborhood east of the San Francisco Zoo and north of San Francisco State University.Scam arrest: Two arrested in ‘draining’ scheme involving 4,100 tampered gift cards: What to know about the scam
Thief stole from same Target store over 100 times in just a year
Prosecutors said Graves stole from the same Target store 120 times in just over a one-year period, KRON-TV reported.
Assistant District Attorney Conrad Del Rosario, who prosecuted the case, said the jury “heard and considered a large volume of evidence over several weeks” in the case.
Between Oct 3, 2020, and Nov. 16, 2021, she entered the store, brought items to the self-checkout, scanned them, and inserted “a single coin or bill” into the machine before leaving the store, jurors determined.
In this case, jurors found she repeatedly stole merchandise worth more than $60,000.
She was later seen selling her stolen goods at UN Plaza in the city, prosecutors wrote in the release.
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According to the release, Graves was also convicted of one count of misdemeanor petty theft for stealing from a San Francisco-based Abercrombie and Fitch store.
“Individuals such as Aziza Graves commit egregious thefts through brazen and repeated conduct that greatly impacts retailers’ ability to operate and serve the general public in their area,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins released in a statement following the conviction. “These crimes demand accountability and we need to send the message to others who engage in open and brash thefts that, with the support of our local law enforcement partners, our office will continue to pursue and prosecute those involved.”
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Repeat retail thief set for sentencing May 24
As of Tuesday, prosecutors said, Graves remained free on bond.
Sentencing is set May 24 and Graves faces more than three years in prison, prosecutors said.
