Crime & Safety

Pair Charged with Trying to Steal Baby Formula from CVS

Wyckoff Police arrested Londie Black, of Lodi, and Jamahl Payne, of Wallington, on shoplifting charges.

Cops arrested a man and woman from Bergen County after they allegedly tried to shoplift baby formula from the Wyckoff , last Thursday.

first received a report after noon on Aug. 30 that two females had grabbed more than $200 worth of baby formula and placed them in two large black bags, police said.

The pair then attempted to leave the store with the merchandise but when confronted by store employees, tossed the stolen goods, fled and drove away, according to Wyckoff Police Chief Benjamin Fox.

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Patrolmen Mark Tagliareni and Terrance Murphy arrived on the scene where store employees described the vehicle and direction in which the alleged shoplifters had fled.

The officers caught up to the vehicle and stopped it on Franklin Avenue near Wyckoff Avenue, cops said.

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The driver, Londie K. Black, a 35-year-old woman from Lodi, and her passenger, Jamahl D. Payne, a 32-year-old man from Wallington were both arrested for shoplifting.

Cops discovered that Payne, the alleged shoplifter that CVS employees initially identified as a woman, was actually a man "who looked and dressed like a female," according to Fox.

Police searching Black's car found four other cans of baby formula without receipts.

Fox said that shoplifters "almost always" plan to resell stolen baby formula.

Black was additionally charged with driving while her license is revoked. They were both committed to the Bergen County Jail in default of $1,000 bail.

The officers were assisted by Detective Sgt. Michael Musto, Patrolman Ryan Tenney, and Franklin Lakes Police.

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