Two Pennsylvania women have been arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $3,500 worth of roast beef and other items from the Arby’s restaurant where they worked.
Officials filed felony theft charges against Shaniyah Alyia West, 21, and Stephanie Davis, 63, alleging they stole more than $2,800 worth of goods during their shifts. $140 for roast beef and over 140 drinks.
The investigation began last July when the owner of the franchise contacted police regarding discrepancies in the store’s roast beef log sheet. While she initially thought it was due to a measurement issue or waste, the store owner eventually discovered that the two men were allegedly slicing and hiding the beef in a non-working oven before placing it in the trash.
They would later allegedly remove the meat from the bin. The practice continued for several months, officials said. A manager told police he saw two workers cutting large amounts of beef, which was thrown away that night. He said West seemed eager to take out the trash that night – and when he went to check after the bag was taken out, he discovered there was no beef in it.
Surveillance video also allegedly showed the pair taking 143 drinks, 16 other food items and 49 “other” items.
The unusual case comes at a time when more retailers view theft (or “shrinkage” to use industry terminology) as a growing challenge. According to the National Retail Federation, shrinkage losses will exceed $100 billion by 2022.
Shoplifting is often cited as the leading cause of these losses, but internal theft accounts for 29% of losses, according to the NRF.
“Employees have greater access to goods and money; more control over security measures and processes; employees who decide to steal or who collude with outsiders to steal typically do so more frequently than outside thieves do every time,” the NRF writes in its 2023 Retail Security Survey. The average cost of internal theft reported per investigation was $2,180, consistent with 2021 and 2020 levels.
