Two Port Angeles residents allegedly stole more than $1,300 worth of infant formula from Safeway stores in Port Angeles and Sequim in early June to sell at $8 a tub, Sequim police said.
Kirsten M. Ivliyev, 25, and Jordan J. Pinheiro, 21, had their first court appearance June 11 on charges of second-degree organized retail theft, a Class B felony in which a person, with an accomplice, has stolen at least $750 worth of goods from a store.
Ivliyev and Pinheiro allegedly stole $1,500 in merchandise, including the powdered formula, on June 7.
Ivliyev also was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, heroin, and with misdemeanor resisting arrest.
She also was charged with gross misdemeanor-making a false statement to a public servant after she allegedly gave a false name to an arresting officer.
Ivliyev and Pinheiro were scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. June 15 in Clallam County Superior Court.
Ivliyev said she took to formula from the Sequim Safeway on West Washington Street to pay for her rent.
“She apologized and told me that she was approached by someone who said if she got formula she would buy it from her,” officer Kindryn Leiter said in the arrest report.
Ivliyev said she was “stealing the formula to sell it for $8 a tub,” according to the report.
Ivliyev allegedly stole 18 containers of powdered formula worth $657 — an average of $36.50 each — and Seahawks bags, Seahawks yoga pants, Seahawks juniors and toothbrushes valued at $140, according to the report.
A store employee had said that Ivliyev was selecting the items from the store and putting them into re-usable shopping bags before she tried to leave. An employee confronted her and she ran away.
She was arrested after Leiter chased her during a brief foot pursuit, according to the report.
The Sequim Safeway employee who reported the theft said a man had stolen more than $700 of baby formula from the downtown Port Angeles Safeway and, like Ivliyev, put it into reusable shopping bags before fleeing from the store.
Pinheiro was later arrested by police in his Dodge Durango, where the formula was in a tote, according to the report.
“Alcohol, laundry detergent and baby formula are things that are stolen in bulk in these types of shoplifting things,” Sequim Detective Sgt. Sean Madison said.
Madison said advertisements for purchasing baby formula have been on eBay and Craigslist.
One website said selling unused baby formula is “the easiest way to get cash for your unused baby formula” and offered a free shipping kit.
Paul Gottlieb is a Senior Staff Writer with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@ peninsuladailynews.com.
