Pembroke Pines police are asking for the public's help identifying a woman accused of shoplifting from the same Whole Foods Market eight separate times over five months. Detectives say the woman has been seen carrying a large tote bag during the thefts, which were reported between March and this month at the store on Pines Boulevard.
According to WSVN 7News, investigators say the woman left without paying for merchandise at the Whole Foods located at 14956 Pines Boulevard, and a flyer seeking the public's help was posted Monday morning. Police describe her as having black hair and standing approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall. Anyone who recognizes her is urged to call the Pembroke Pines Police Department at 954-431-2200.
That store, tucked into Cobblestone Plaza about a quarter mile west of Interstate 75, has a history of drawing thieves. Per the Whole Foods Market, the location has long served as a busy grocery stop near the highway, but its accessibility has also made it a repeat target — in July 2021, a suspect stole more than $1,300 worth of specialty wine and seafood from the same store in a single incident, according to CBS News.
A Second Habitual Shoplifter Sought at the Same Store
This is not the only shoplifting alert tied to the Pines Boulevard Whole Foods this month. Pembroke Pines police separately sought the public's help identifying a male suspect caught on camera stealing unpaid items four times from the same store, according to a Pembroke Pines Police Department Facebook post. Together, the two cases point to a persistent security challenge for the grocery chain's Broward County location.
Hoodline has previously reported on other Pembroke Pines theft investigations, including a hunt for an EBT fraud suspect and a case involving a woman accused of running a SNAP scheme that touched roughly 200 residents. The department, headquartered at 9500 Pines Boulevard, fields more than 270 sworn officers for a city of over 179,000 residents, and it maintains a dedicated Burglary Suppression Team focused on serial thefts and organized retail crime, according to the City of Pembroke Pines.
What Repeat Thefts Could Mean Legally
Whoever detectives identify in the Whole Foods case could face significant legal exposure under Florida law. Florida House Bill 549, enacted in 2024, allows retail thefts committed over a 120-day window to be combined into a single grand theft felony charge if the cumulative value of stolen merchandise tops $750, per legal analysis from the Law Office of Corey I. Cohen & Associates.
Separately, Florida Statute § 812.014 allows prosecutors to charge petit theft as a third-degree felony — carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine — for anyone with two or more prior theft convictions, regardless of the value of the items taken, according to Goldman Wetzel. It remains unknown how much merchandise was taken across the eight reported incidents at the Pines Boulevard store, or whether investigators believe the items were meant for personal use or resale.
The case fits into a broader statewide pattern. Florida retailers lost an estimated $5.4 billion to retail theft in 2022, a toll that pushed lawmakers and prosecutors to create task forces and stiffen penalties for habitual offenders, per the Law Offices of Scott B. Saul. Nationally, a July report from the National Retail Federation found that overall shoplifting incidents fell 12.4% in 2025, even as retailers reported more repeat offenders and brazen walkout thefts.
Pembroke Pines itself recorded a property crime rate of 11.36 per 1,000 residents in 2025, below the Florida statewide average, according to data from PrimeGuards. Still, the repeated targeting of one Whole Foods location shows that even relatively low-crime South Florida suburbs aren't immune to serial retail theft. Anyone with information on the woman's identity is asked to contact Pembroke Pines police.
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