Troopers say accused shoplifter flashed handgun during theft at Indiana Mall
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State police are asking the public’s help identifying a man who is accused of flashing a handgun as he fled a J.C. Penney store at Indiana Mall in White Township with a shopping cart of stolen merchandise.
Troopers said they were dispatched at 3:01 p.m. Tuesday to the mall on the 2300 block of Oakland Avenue, just outside of Indiana Borough, after receiving a report of a male who made a threatening gesture with the gun to another customer.
Investigators said the suspect entered the store, loaded a cart full of merchandise and as he exited the store he encountered an uninvolved bystander.
“During a brief encounter with the bystander, the suspect pulled back his jacket and in the process of doing so he revealed a pistol holstered or partially concealed inside the waistband on his hip. The suspect was reported to have made a brief comment to the bystander before exiting the store with the stolen merchandise,” said state police spokesman Trooper Clifford Greenfield.
The bystander told troopers the suspect did not unholster, remove, or point the pistol at anyone during the incident.
He is described as a Hispanic with a teardrop tattoo under one eye and was reported to be wearing khaki pants, a gray sweatshirt, boots and a tan coat. He was accompanied by two women, police said.
They drove away in a black Dodge Avenger sedan after loading the stolen merchandise into the vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call Trooper Nicholas Smith at 724-357-1960.