Teens accused of arranging shoplifting spree on Facebook

Five teens from Milwaukee filled their arms with 170 pieces of clothing at Boston Store at Mayfair and made a run for it Thursday night.

According to the Wauwatosa police report:

The teens, females ranging in age from 13 to 19, said it was a bit of a coincidence they ended up at the same store at the same time. They said some of them were only familiar with each other via Facebook, but when parents were called they gave permission for one father to pick up all the teens from the Police Department.

A 17-year-old girl called herself "a booster," stealing and reselling merchandise for half price to make money. The group mostly took infant and toddler clothing, and tried to get away with merchandise valued at nearly $4,200.

The teens told officers they arrived at the mall planning to shoplift, but online discussions had them going to different stores. When they all ended up at Boston Store, they made a snap decision to grab and run, one teen said.

A clerk said he saw a group of females congregate in one department, then he heard laughing and screaming. They ran toward a car driven by a 21-year-old Milwaukee woman and three teens tried to throw merchandise and jump into the moving vehicle. The other two teens dropped the items they were carrying in the parking lot.

Some of the teens hid around the Aurora Medical building on North Avenue, while others ran across the busy roadway into the residential neighborhood.

The teens said their driver - who is the guardian of the 13- and 16-year-old girl involved - wasn't aware shoplifting was going to take place. However, the woman was arrested for being party to a crime because she ran from police and was found hiding in a backyard on 102nd Street.