Sears Clerk Indicted in Organized Retail Theft Spree

A Salem Sears employee accused of falsely ringing in a series of returns in order to allow others to make off with thousands of dollars in cash and merchandise could face between 3 1/2 and 7 years in prison for his alleged crimes.

Edwin Echevarria, 25, of 481 High St., Apt. 2, in Lawrence, Mass., was recently indicted by a Rockingham Superior Court grand jury on a Class B felony count of conspiracy theft by deception, a Class A misdemeanor count of conspiracy theft by deception, and a Class A misdemeanor count of theft by unauthorized taking.

The indictments allege that Echevarria was involved in at least three different instances of theft at the Salem Sears, where he worked.

On Aug. 2, Echevarria allegedly conspired with an Erik Pena to credit Pena's Sears credit account for an air conditioner that Pena purchased, but never returned, according to the misdemeanor conspiracy indictment.

Echevarria also processed a return for Pena on Aug. 12, crediting Pena's account with $1,147.89 after Pena returned a $17.99 pair of pants, according to the felony conspiracy indictment and information previously released by police.

The theft by unauthorized taking charge stems from the fact that Echevarria allegedly pocketed $160 in cash on Aug. 13 instead of placing it in a Sears cash register. Echevarria was arrested later that day.

Police have said that there were at least five different days of organized retail thefts at Sears over the summer. Police have alleged that several individuals, including Echevarria, were involved in a series of false refunds, transactions using false rewards points and falsely registered merchandise, and cash thefts totaling $2,500.

Police have also said that one of the other thefts involved a woman who bought an air conditioner valued at $359, then got a refund of that amount without returning the appliance. On a different day, the same woman purchased luggage for $979 but only actually paid $5.59 for a screwdriver.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt or conviction; rather, it means a grand jury believed there was sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.