Two people walked out of the Target on Miamisburg-Centerville Road last month with jewelry, clothing, laundry detergent, toys, and two large televisions, and Miami Township police say they still don't know who did it. Now investigators are asking the public to help put names to the faces caught on the store's security cameras.
According to the Miami Township, Montgomery County, Ohio Police Department, the pair entered the store on July 26 and were recorded by a camera at the front lanes at 4:34 p.m. before being caught again by another camera near the exit vestibule about eleven minutes later, at 4:45 p.m. Police say the two then left the area in a maroon or red midsize Chevrolet or Ford SUV. Anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Green with the Miami Township Police Department at 937-433-2301 or by email at [email protected].
The store sits at 2300 Miamisburg-Centerville Road, right in the middle of the Dayton Mall retail corridor, according to the Miami Township website. That commercial district generates roughly $1 billion in annual retail sales and swells the township's daytime population past 100,000 people with shoppers and workers, per the township's own figures — a density that makes the area a frequent target for property crime.
A Pattern at the Same Store
This isn't the first time this particular Target has needed the public's help identifying a thief. In June 2025, Miami Township police put out a similar appeal after someone stole more than $800 worth of clothing from the same store, according to WHIO TV. The station's report on that earlier case shows the department has repeatedly leaned on surveillance photo releases to solicit tips after thefts at the location.
The station also reported that just one day after this latest Target incident, Miami Township officers responded to a shoplifting call at a nearby Kroger where the fleeing suspect ran onto Interstate 75 and jumped onto the hood of a moving vehicle before being caught, a chase that resulted in aggravated robbery and theft charges. Combined with a JCPenney theft Hoodline covered involving pepper spray earlier in July, the run of incidents points to a busy stretch for retail theft calls in the township.
What Charges Could Follow
Whether the case becomes a misdemeanor or a felony will hinge on the total dollar value of what was taken, which remains an open question until suspects are identified. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 2913.02, theft of property valued under $1,000 is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to 180 days in jail, while theft of goods worth between $1,000 and $7,500 is a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to 12 months in prison, per legal guidance cited by Ohio statute trackers.
Ohio lawmakers also created a separate felony charge specifically for organized retail theft in January 2025 through the Fight Organized Retail Crime and Empower Law Enforcement Act, which imposes at least a fourth-degree felony on repeat offenders with prior felony theft convictions within the past three years, according to the Ohio Attorney General's office. The Ohio Council of Retail Merchants has estimated that organized retail theft costs businesses across the state between $2 billion and $3 billion every year, a figure the Attorney General's office cites as justification for the tougher law.
A Regional Task Force Behind the Scenes
Miami Township's response to store thefts increasingly runs through a dedicated regional coalition. In December 2025, state and local authorities formed the Tactical Crime Suppression Unit Organized Retail Crime Task Force, joining the Miami Township Police Department with the Kettering Police Department, the Miamisburg Police Department, the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office, and federal agents to investigate retail theft rings, according to the Ohio Attorney General's office.
Miami Township's police department is the largest township law enforcement agency in Montgomery County, running with about 40 sworn officers and earning its third consecutive four-year national accreditation from CALEA in August 2025, per the department's own published figures. Court filings from July show Officer Green, the officer now asking for tips on the Target case, as an active patrol officer with the department. Police have not said whether the July 26 theft is connected to the task force's broader investigations, but the case adds to a growing list of retail theft incidents the department has publicized in recent months, including its earlier appeal for information in a chase Hoodline reported involving a Franklin teen on I-75.
