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NY couple nabbed in mall theft; allegedly took $7,000 in cologne and clothing

By Staff | Jan 24, 2017

NASHUA – A man and woman from the New York City borough of Queens are in jail on $20,000 cash bail each after police, investigating a reported theft from a Pheasant Lane Mall store, found nearly $7,000 in allegedly stolen clothing and cologne in their car.

Sebastian Fandino, 22, a Queens resident with no fixed address, and Juliana Gonzalez, 23, of 20-22 120th St. in the College Point section of Queens, were arrested Friday afternoon by police who responded to a call from loss prevention agents at the Abercrombie & Fitch at the mall located at 310 Daniel Webster Highway.

Police said in reports that when approached by arriving officers, Fandino and Gonzalez were speaking with loss prevention agents in the mall’s food court and readily admitted to stealing seven bottles of Abercrombie Fierce cologne.

During the conversation, police said, Gonzalez allegedly told officers that "there is a lot more cologne in their vehicle," according to reports.

Police said they received consent to search the vehicle and located 113 bottles of Fierce cologne worth $6,726 and five articles of Abercrombie & Fitch clothing worth about $256, for a combined total of just under $7,000.

Police also said they discovered that the bag into which Fandino allegedly placed the seven bottles of cologne, before allegedly walking out of the store without paying for them, was "laminated or coated … or specially designed … (and) intended to be used to shield merchandise from detection by electronic … theft alarm sensors."

Fandino and Gonzalez were arraigned Monday morning, with the assistance of a Spanish interpreter, in Nashua district court via video conference from Valley Street jail in Manchester.

Fandino faces one count of receiving stolen property, a Class A felony, along with one count each of theft and possession of theft detection shielding devices, both Class A misdemeanors.

Gonzalez is charged with one count each of receiving stolen property, Class A felony, and theft, Class A misdemeanor.

Judge Lucinda Sadler, who presided over the arraignment, set their probable cause hearings for 8:15 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2, in the Nashua court.

Sadler was in the process of modifying Gonzalez’s bail to $15,000 cash only, when Nashua police prosecutor Nicole Clay told Sadler she had just received information that Gonzalez and Fandino may have connections to the national crime enterprise known as the Felony Lane gang.

Sadler subsequently reinstated Gonzalez’s $20,000 cash only bail. She had considered lowering it after hearing from Gonzalez, who spoke at length through the interpreter.

"I apologize, I made a mistake … I know of my past cases," she said, referring to Clay’s account of Gonzalez’s criminal history, which includes arrests in Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and most recently, Rhode Island.

Clay also said Gonzalez is a suspect in four other similar events at Abercrombie & Fitch stores in Salem, as well as the Massachusetts cities of Burlington, North Attleborough and Braintree.

"Ms. Gonzalez has no apparent connection to New Hampshire, except to come into our state to commit crimes," Clay told Sadler.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, asked for $10,000 bail, telling Sadler "if you give me a chance I swear I won’t do it again … I will behave, I will come to all my court dates. I will do everything you ask me to do."

She also denied knowledge of, or connection to, the Felony Lane gang.

"I do not belong to any gangs," she said through the interpreter.

If either Fandino or Gonzalez are able to make bail, they are prohibited from going to Pheasant Lane Mall, must sign waivers of extradition and cannot possess any firearms or other weapons.

They must also agree to a so-called "nebbia" hearing, a proceeding at which defendants are required to disclose the source of the funds they use to post bail.

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-1256, dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com or@Telegraph_DeanS.

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