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Police arrest pair trying to walk out of Kohl’s store with $3,200 in merchandise
kohl theft
Manteca Police recovered almost $3,200 worth of merchandise from Kohl’s in Manteca during an arrest in 2023. In searching the suspects vehicle, they found more than $2,000 worth of additional merchandise that had been stolen earlier in the day.

Two people from Merced were arrested this week after they were caught trying to walk out of the Manteca Kohl’s location with nearly $3,200 worth of merchandise they didn’t pay for.

While they had managed to get two shopping carts out of the store, they didn’t know that Manteca Police Detective Dave Brown – who is assigned to curb organized retail theft in the community – was sitting in the parking lot waiting.

Tyrus McGhee, 22, and Corryn Graves, 39, both of Merced, were booked into the San Joaquin County Jail on charges of organized retail crime, burglary, grand theft, possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics, and violation of probation.

And while they were caught red-handed at Kohls, they had made previous stops earlier that day.

According to the Manteca Police, a search of their vehicle uncovered more than $2,000 worth of items stolen from Big Lots and Harbor Freight in Tracy before they came to Manteca. While being interviewed both suspects reportedly admitted being involved in organized retail crime for the last year, and targeted Kohl’s, JCPenney, Lowe’s, Walmart, and Ross multiple times a week.

Upon further investigation it was discovered that Grave’s drivers license had been suspended for 10 years – resulting in the towing of the vehicle that the were using during the crime spree. McGhee was also found to be on felony probation for conspiracy.

While organized retail crime has been on the rise across Northern California in recent years – prompting some retailers like Apple to post off-duty police officers at their locations to thwart would-be thieves – the practice has far-reaching impacts that impact all consumers.

The cost of the goods that are often stolen are factored into the pricing for other items – making them more expensive for law-abiding citizens in order to make up the difference. 

Rather than waiting to respond to the crimes as they occurred, the Manteca Police Department took the unique step of being proactive and working to identify those responsible so that future crimes could be prevented. When Detective Dave Brown was assigned to the project, he began building relationships with loss prevention teams from a variety of retailers, and the communication has led to multiple arrests since the practice was put into place.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.