GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Gwinnett County Police have now identified the four shoplifters who are part of a string of retail thefts.
Recently, the shoplifters were involved in a potentially fatal attack at the Home Depot on Jimmy Carter Boulevard in the Norcross area on Sept. 23. The accused shoplifters not only ran off with hundreds of dollars worth of power tools, but they also attacked a 66-year-old employee — knocking him over and inflicting a severe head injury, police said.
Authorities said Tony Demps, 43, and 19-year-old Deshawn Dukes were identified as just two of the shoplifters. Both face charges of robbery, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. Demps faces charges that include two counts of contributing to delinquency of a minor.
Police added that the juveniles in this case were also identified and face charges in this case. It is unclear if they have been taken into custody.
Demps and Dukes are still wanted and police still need the public's help in finding the accused shoplifters.
Police Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle previously said that they all got away in a dark grey Chrysler 300 sedan.
“It appeared to be a coordinated effort amongst these individuals,” Winderweedle said. "And during the process, when an employee attempted to intervene or stop them, they assaulted that employee and caused an injury that resulted in them being sent to the hospital for a couple days.”
Home Depot’s headquarters, which are in Atlanta, emailed this statement to 11Alive last month when we previously reported on the crime:
“Organized retail crime is an ongoing issue, and it has been on the rise over the last several years for many retailers. We have multiple initiatives in place to fight it, including using human and technology resources to make theft in our stores more difficult, maintaining close partnerships with law enforcement and working with federal and state task forces to fight this problem.
The INFORM Consumers Act was a great first step in tackling this issue by removing the cloak of anonymity that professional shoplifters hide behind when re-selling stolen merchandise on online marketplaces. Now, Congress and states must focus on three paths forward: first, enforcing the new law of the land, second, creating capacity for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute cases through funding federal, state and local task forces and third, educating law enforcement and prosecutors on how to partner with retailers to combat dangerous criminals and organized crime.”
Anyone with information in this case is asked to call detectives at 770-513-5300. Those who would like remain anonymous can do so by calling Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477 or by clicking here. Crime Stoppers tipsters can receive a cash reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.