Three was unlucky number for a gang of shoplifters caught outside a third “dollar’’ store after stealing $578 in items from one and fleeing another

Calvin Aguillard

Michael Whitfield

Three was an unlucky number for a gang of shoplifters in St. Bernard Parish on Wednesday who tried binge-stealing.

Sheriff James Pohlmann said three men fled a “dollar’’ store in Meraux where they were trying to steal but left unsuccessfully, then the same group stole $578 in items from a similar store in east Chalmette but got caught by sheriff’s detectives on their apparent third try, outside a store in west Chalmette.

All three New Orleans men were booked just after 10:30 a.m. with one count of felony shoplifting and one count of attempted misdemeanor shoplifting, the sheriff said. He said the stolen merchandise, much of it cleansers, detergents and bleach as well as other things was recovered in a vehicle parked near where they were arrested in the 8300 block of West judge Perez Drive in Chalmette.

The three are also suspects in several other recent shoplifting heists in New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish which had similar methods of operation, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

Arrested were Michael Whitfield, 37; Wayne Glasper, 33; and Calvin Aguillard, 32. All were booked into St. Bernard Parish Prison pending an appearance before a judge to have bond set.

The three had tried to steal in a “dollar’’ store in the 4200 block of East Judge Perez Drive in Meraux about 10 a.m. but left when they were spotted by a store employee, the sheriff said.

Twenty minutes later they stole the $578 of items after two men went into a store in the 900 block of East Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, took many items and headed out a door as the third man was waiting outside, then they all escaped in a vehicle, the sheriff said.

Only 10 or more minutes later, sheriff’s detectives saw two men fitting the descriptions of the wanted shoplifters walking along the side of a store in the 8300 block of West Judge Perez in Chalmette, Sheriff Pohlmann said.

He said investigation led to the arrest of them, along with the third man and the recovery of the stolen goods.