Crime & Safety

Woman Charged in Target Vacuum-Stealing Scam

Olliscia Waylon Dahl of St. Paul is accused of stealing Dyson vacuum cleaners from Twin Cities Target stores, including the Plymouth location, and then trying to return them for fraudulent refunds.

A St. Paul woman has been charged with theft after police say she repeatedly stole vacuum cleaners from Target stores in Maple Grove, Plymouth and Edina and tried to return them for refunds.

Olliscia Waylon Dahl, 22, is charged with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, signed by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Detective James Packard, employees from Target’s assets protection department contacted the sheriff’s office about a case involving shoplifting and phony refunds.

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Target employees had determined that Dahl had been involved in five shoplifting incidents at Target stores for a total loss to the company of $2,575. A male accomplice, not named in the complaint, was involved in three of the thefts for a loss of $1,562, according to court documents.

On April 24, a man walked into the Maple Grove Target, followed by Dahl. The man selected a Dyson vacuum cleaner, went through the checkout lanes and paid for it with cash, then left the store and went to a car in the parking lot.

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Dahl entered the store, chose the same model of vacuum cleaner as the unidentified man, then met her male accomplice, who reached into his pocket and handed something to Dahl, according to the complaint. The man left the store, and Dahl went to the service desk with the vacuum she hadn’t paid for, handed over the unidentified man’s receipt and got a refund for the unpurchased vacuum, the complaint charges.

On the same day, Dahl and her accomplice went to the Plymouth Target store, and Dahl tried to return a Dyson vacuum cleaner using the same receipt, according to the complaint. In that case, the store refused to issue a refund, and Dahl walked through the store, collecting merchandise in a basket.

Surveillance video showed Dahl carrying merchandise when she walked into the infants’ section of the store, but when she left the area, there was no longer any merchandise in her basket, according to Packard’s account. She retrieved the vacuum cleaner that she had tried to return, and left the store.

On April 26, Dahl entered the Edina Target store, followed shortly by her male accomplice. She selected a Dyson vacuum cleaner, put it in her cart and then abandoned it, returning a short time later. She retrieved the cart and walked out without paying for the vacuum, according to the complaint.

The complaint also accuses Dahl of stealing items at Target stores in Champlin and Rogers.

Dahl’s criminal record includes convictions for theft in August and October 2011, both in Ramsey County, and in Washington County last March.

Dahl remains in the Hennepin County Jail on a $5,000 bond. She is also being held on outstanding warrants from Hennepin, Anoka and Ramsey counties. An omnibus hearing in her case is scheduled June 14 in Hennepin County District Court.


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