Home improvement store thief sentenced to 5 years in prison

SEATTLE - A man accused of stealing from nearly 200 home improvement stores across the United States will serve five years behind bars, a judge ruled Friday.

Jaylan Amir Thomas, 27, from Santa Monica, pleaded guilty to wire fraud on December 5, 2023, and was ordered to pay $664,161 in restitution to the victim home improvement store.

Court records state Thomas traveled across the U.S., stopping at home improvement stores and renting jumping jack tampers and vibratory plate compactors, which are expensive construction equipment.

Thomas used over 150 fake IDs and dozens of fake phone numbers to trick stores into letting him rent the equipment.

Thomas also used several debit cards to put down deposits on the rentals, but would lock his bank accounts so that his card never gets charged.

Once he secured the equipment, Thomas sold them on online marketplaces for $700 per machine.

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Thomas and his crew stole more than 480 pieces of equipment from 190 home improvement stores in 23 states. His group stole multiple items from stores in Federal Way, Tacoma, Vancouver, Covington, Longview, Bothell, Everett, Redmond, and Seattle.

Thomas was arrested four times in relation to the scheme, but would bail out and continue the fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"Organized retail crime like Thomas’ thefts has a significant impact on our communities: An analysis from the Retail Industry Leaders Association estimates Washington retailers lost $2.7 billion to organized retail crime in 2021. Forbes Advisor ranked Washington as the number one state impacted by organized retail theft based on six metrics. Organized retail crime raises costs for consumers and threatens the safety of stores and employees," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Watts Staniar.