GAMBRILLS, Md (WMAR) — Mike and Kendall Cox have owned Once Upon a Child in Gambrills for 15 years, offering parents a way to buy and sell gently used kids' stuff.
"They come in because they can save money," said Mike Cox.
But Wednesday, they say their mom and pop shop became the target of a calculated theft.
Cox said at around 1:30 p.m., two women came into the store and started "stockpiling" hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise. They waited for an opportunity and ran out with three full bags. Because Cox takes security very seriously, they were caught on multiple cameras, and his employee, who are all trained on shoplifting, ran out to take a picture of their license plate. They filed a police report and are searching for the two.
"Our small business thrives because of the support of our local community, and we are not able to sustain continual losses like this," said Cox.
8 months ago, they fell victim to a similar crime. Cox said 4 people came into the shop, stuffing merchandise up their skirts, filling up stolen strollers with things and took off. They were later arrested and police recovered some of the stolen merchandise at their home.
"When something like this happens, the community usually rallies around us and gets upset," said Cox.
He's hoping that will help lead to an arrest and merchandise recovered.
If you know any information about this situation, call Anne Arundel County Police at (410) 222-8012.
