Lake Worth theft suspects arrested after chase, linked to 30 thefts across the Metroplex

Lake Worth suspects linked to 30 thefts arrested

Investigators believe the suspects have committed more than 30 organized retail thefts since Halloween.

LAKE WORTH, Texas - Lake Worth police have arrested two men they believe are responsible for 30 thefts across North Texas.

The pair were arrested after a vehicle and foot pursuit on Tuesday.

One of the suspects bailed from a car and ran, but he didn’t get far. Officers had him in cuffs within seconds. The other suspect, who was driving, was also taken into custody.

Nearly 250 stolen items worth $3,284 were recovered from the pair's car.

Christopher Bivens, 33, and Terrence Parish, 37, were charged with organized theft.

Bivens was also charged with evading arrest after running from officers.

Investigators believe they have committed more than 30 organized retail thefts since Halloween.

"In Lake Worth, they hit a Walgreens and CVS on the same day," Lake Worth Police Chief Jay Manoushagian said.

Just moments before the arrests, the two were inside a red sedan on Lake Worth Boulevard, weaving in and out of parking lots with police trying to pull them over.

Investigators said they had just, in cavalier fashion, stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of women’s beauty products from two drug stores.

While in the act at a Walgreens, someone called in a description of them and their vehicle.

The stolen goods, totaling more than $3,000 and stuffed into garbage bags, were recovered from the vehicle, and investigators said there is much more.

"They also found evidence linking these two individuals to at least five other similar thefts in the DFW Metroplex that day, and since then, they’ve been linked to at least 30 thefts going back to Halloween," Manoushagian said.

Both were seen on surveillance video inside the Walgreens store.

"It appears that they’re targeting beauty products. So they enter the business, appear to walk around, scope out what is available, and then they will start to make their selections, pull out a trash bag or pants pocket, or jacket, or pants pocket, and simply rake the contents of the shelf into the bag and then they would leave," Manoushagian explained. "They know that the majority of policies that these stores have prohibit employees from intervening.

Police said the pair have hit stores ranging in location from east Dallas to west Fort Worth.

"We believe they are part of a larger criminal organization. The theft of these types of products is just the first of many steps in the criminal organization," Manoushagian said. "When you see items being offered for sale online at a price that seems too good to be true, we’re going to ask them to reconsider that purchase. We want them to know the purchase online is going to lead back to a criminal organization."