A young girl carrying a pink backpack with a white stuffed toy poking out allegedly became the cover a group of adults needed to walk out of a Boca Raton Best Buy with nearly $3,700 in camera equipment. Deputies say the child, believed to be somewhere between 8 and 10 years old, positioned herself directly in front of the camera display and later tapped one of the women repeatedly to hurry her along as the theft unfolded on the evening of Aug. 15.
According to WPEC, deputies allege the girl was used as a shield during the theft, positioning her small frame between the camera case and store employees while the adults worked. Surveillance cameras inside the store at 20540 State Road 7 reportedly captured two women and the child heading straight to the camera display section, where a silver Sony Alpha 7C II camera body and a Sony zoom lens were on display.
Investigators allege that Melissa Stevens reached into the child's backpack and pulled out a cutting tool, which she allegedly used to snip the security cable holding the equipment in place. Deputies say the same backpack that carried a stuffed toy also carried the means to disable the store's theft deterrents, according to the same account. Ginger Mitchell, meanwhile, allegedly acted as a lookout and handled other display gear during the encounter.
A Second, Smaller Theft Inside the Store
Before the group made its way to the exits, Melissa Stevens is also accused of stealing a $5 pair of scissors from an employee-only back room, per the same account. It is a small detail next to the nearly $3,700 camera setup, but deputies included it among the allegations tied to the group's time inside the store.
When the theft was complete, deputies say the group left by running past all of the store's registers and heading for the exit, where a getaway vehicle was already waiting. The report notes that a beige 2005 BMW 745Li had pulled up directly to the store's front entrance just four seconds before the group fled.
License Plate Removed, Tag Expired
Deputies allege an unidentified man drove the BMW into the parking lot, removed its license plate and placed it inside the vehicle before waiting for the group to emerge. The car itself was also carrying an expired temporary tag, according to the report.
The getaway car did not stay hidden forever. Weeks after the incident, an agent reportedly spotted the same beige BMW on Glades Road. Investigators say body-worn-camera footage from that later encounter was used to match the vehicle seen during a traffic stop with images captured by the Best Buy's own surveillance cameras from the night of the theft, allowing investigators to identify the suspects and secure search warrants.
Search Warrant Leads to Three Arrests
Early Thursday morning, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office executed a search warrant at a residence on Northwest 15th Vista in Boca Raton. Ginger Mitchell, 29, Melissa Stevens, 33, and Bryan Stevens, 31, were all taken into custody and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail.
All three now face a lengthy list of charges: grand theft, burglary of an occupied structure, use of an anti-shoplifting countermeasure device, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, dealing in stolen property, and retail theft involving merchant distraction. The anti-shoplifting countermeasure charge specifically targets devices designed to defeat a retailer's theft-prevention tools. The allegations, per deputies, are based on probable-cause affidavits.
The evidence reviewed for this report does not identify the man accused of driving and staging the BMW, nor does it establish the child's identity, exact age, or whether she has been charged in connection with the theft. No court dates, bond amounts or attorney information for Mitchell or the Stevenses were included in the materials available.
