Nashua police photo Julio Lopez, age 32, of 24 Lance Ave, Litchfield

NASHUA – Police didn’t say what prompted officers to respond to the Pheasant Lane Mall Saturday afternoon in search of theft suspect Julio Lopez, but by the time they’d finished searching him and running his name through various databases, the 32-year-old Litchfield resident was in custody on a slew of felony offenses.

Officers came upon Lopez, of 24 Lance Ave., at about 1 p.m. Saturday “in the area just outside Macy’s,” police said, adding that Lopez was a suspect in several thefts from Costco, which is across Daniel Webster Highway from the mall.

In speaking with Lopez, officers discovered that Salem police had an active warrant out for his arrest, police said. They then realized he was allegedly in possession of property that had been reported stolen from Macy’s and the Apple Store, which is also in the mall.

When detectives with the department’s Criminal Investigations Division were asked to look into the matter, they promptly identified him as a suspect allegedly involved in “a series of thefts over a period of two months” from the Costco store, police said.

Then, upon reviewing Lopez’s alleged criminal history, detectives found that he has two previous convictions on theft-related charges, which elevates his new charges to felonies.

In addition to the arrest on the Salem warrant, police charged Lopez with five counts of theft by unauthorized taking and two counts of receiving stolen property, all Class B felonies due to his two prior convictions.

Lopez refused bail, and was scheduled for arraignment Monday in Hillsborough County Superior Court South.

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