Two charged with thefts from Wal-Marts

Sep. 19--ALTON -- Two Alton men face charges stemming from what police believe are thefts of thousands of dollars' worth of electronic items at a number of Wal-Mart stores throughout Southern Illinois and as far south as Chattanooga, Tenn.

Zachariah F. Yinger, 19, of the 2600 block of Watalee

Each was charged Thursday in Madison County Circuit Court with felony theft for alleged possession of stolen property. Yinger was held on $100,000 bond, and Zini was held on $80,000 bond.

"These two have been hitting just Wal-Mart stores, probably 20 to 30 of them," said Lt. Scott Golike, chief of detectives for the Alton Police Department. He said the stores ranged from as far north as Carlinville and Litchfield to as far south "potentially as the Tennessee-Georgia line."

Golike said the defendants are accused of stealing electronic equipment, including TVs and computers, hard drives, flash drives, video accessories and GPS systems, among other items.

He said police had searched the residences of both men and identified merchandise stolen from Wal-Mart. The stolen items have a retail value of more than $10,000, Golike said.

"It appears from Wal-Mart surveillance videos and interviews with the suspects that they're hitting 24-hour Wal-Marts and carrying things out in the early-morning hours, when the stores don't have a lot of employees working," he said. "Some they cut out of the packages and are carrying out in their pockets; some they are just carrying out of the store."

Golike said the charges reflect that Yinger and Zini were in possession of stolen property at their Alton residences, and he said some items also had been recovered from one of their vehicles.

"But when the dust settles, there will be charges from different agencies and counties," Golike said.

He said the defendants were suspected of stealing items from Wal-Mart stores in Carlinville, Marion, Carbondale, Murphysboro, Waterloo and Wood River, all the way to Chattanooga, Tenn.

"We've got plenty of evidence to charge them here in Alton," Golike said. "Some of this, the other agencies are going to take some time to link the stolen property to their particular cases. There is a lot of stuff."

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has sent a technical person to assist detectives from the Wood River and Waterloo police departments in the investigation, Golike said.

He credited detective Jeff Prosise of the Waterloo Police Department for helping to crack the case after a theft at the Wal-Mart in that city.

"Once his Wal-Mart burglary occurred, he got a vehicle description and a license plate number," Golike said. "He ran the plate, and it came back to Alton. Even though we don't have a Wal-Mart in Alton, we did get involved because the suspects live here."

Golike said the defendants are accused of selling the stolen merchandise on the eBay online auction service.

"They're dispersing this electronic equipment and selling it at slashed prices that appear to be good deals to the people who are buying it," he said. "Car stereos and other things are involved."

Authorities in Monroe County also have issued burglary warrants against Yinger and Zini.

"With each of these agencies, there probably will be a snowball effect, and we will see more charges against these guys," Golike said.

He credited Deputy Chief Otis Steward of the Wood River Police Department and detective Pete Vambeketes of the Alton Police Department for helping to crack the case.

steve_whitworth@thetelegraph.com

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