Hunter
07/19/22
A group of four people allegedly went on a theft spree, stealing thousands of dollars in baby formula, medicines, and other various items Monday.
According to the criminal complaint, the four entered the 1st Avenue HyVee just before noon and filled large pockets in the two women’s skirts with at least 66 containers of baby formula valued at nearly $1200. They then reportedly went to the Dodge Street HyVee and allegedly took at least 71 more containers of baby formula valued at nearly $1300.
The four then went to the Waterfront Drive location at approximately 12:45 and this time took over 110 containers of baby formula valued at over $2000.
Their final stop was the Lantern Park HyVee in Coralville around 1:30 pm. The two females left the store with over $2000 worth of baby formula concealed within their skirts without paying for them. Loss prevention was alerted to be on the lookout for them, and police were there to arrest them as they left the store. North Liberty Police located the males in a van; a probable cause search reportedly located approximately 20 garbage bags full of baby formula, medicines, razor blades, and various other high dollar grocery and retail items.
Police say the thefts were caught on each store’s high-definition surveillance cameras.
The two females were identified as 32-year-old Madalina Iancu and 32-year-old Diana Stana, with the males identified as 30-year-old Nicolae Radu and 30-year-old Marian Chiciu. They were listed in the criminal complaints as transients, although Iancu was found with a driver’s license listing a residence in Tukwila Washington.
Each of the suspects were charged with two counts of 2nd degree Theft and two counts of 3rd degree Theft. If convicted on all counts, all four could face prison sentences of up to fourteen years.