Three women from South Carolina charged in Athens Sports Academy felony shoplifting

Three women from South Carolina were arrested on felony shoplifting charges Tuesday after authorities said they fled Athens but were caught in Walton County after an alert was issued for their car.

The suspects were all released on bond from jail in Athens on Wednesday, but they are also under investigation for thefts of merchandise in Oconee County, which occurred prior to the alleged shoplifting at Academy Sports & Outdoors, according to Athens-Clarke police.

Police were notified shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday that the suspects were leaving the Sports Academy parking lot off Atlanta Highway.

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An officer was provided the tag number of the car and he searched the FLOCK camera system which showed their car was recorded about an hour earlier in Oconee County. Once the tag information was dispatched to surrounding counties, police said deputies in Walton County made a traffic stop and placed all three women in custody.

The Greenville, S.C., residents, ages 23, 28, and 26, were found to be in possession of more than $1,000 in merchandise, mostly clothing from Sports Academy, police said.

Due to the amount of merchandise in the car, Walton County impounded the car until a search warrant is obtained to collect the stolen property, police said.

Oconee County sheriff’s Capt. Vic Green said Thursday that deputies will be present when the car is searched to determine if any of the merchandise was taken from stores in Oconee County, which could lead to additional charges.

Athens-Clarke police detectives will follow up on the case, according to the officer’s report.

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This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Three women from South Carolina charged in Athens Sports Academy felony shoplifting