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State Police trooper banned from Target after allegedly shoplifting over a dozen times
The trooper was accused of stealing more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from Target stores.
A Massachusetts State Police trooper, who allegedly stole from Target over a dozen times, was ordered on Thursday to stay away from all Target locations, according to court documents.
Zachariah Kent, who was suspended without pay last year, allegedly repeatedly shoplifted at Target by “skip scanning” items, meaning that he would pay for some merchandise at self-checkout, while passing others around the scanner.
In a statement shared with Boston.com last year following Kent’s suspension, a spokesperson for the State Police said the department “does not tolerate theft or dishonesty” and holds its members “accountable to the highest professional standards.”
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“When these troubling allegations came to our attention, the Department immediately relieved the accused trooper of duty, opened an internal affairs investigation, and suspended him without pay following his duty status hearing,” the spokesperson said.
Previously:
Kent is a suspect in 23 shoplifting cases in addition to 11 instances at a Target located at 70 Worcester Providence Turnpike in Millbury, court documents show, where he allegedly skip-scanned $847.06 worth of merchandise.
Kent was also identified as the suspect of three shoplifting cases at a Target in Worcester located at 529 Lincoln St.
On April 17, 2024, Kent allegedly brought three packs of golf balls to the Worcester Target’s self checkout, scanning one of the packs and foregoing scanning the other two, according to a report from a Target Assets Protection Specialist. Kent allegedly stole a pack of golf balls the next day and another pack on June 6.
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The total amount for the stolen golf balls amounted to $204.96, according to the documents.
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