By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to the Home Depot store on Mystic Ave. last Thursday on reports that a suspected shoplifter was being detained by store loss prevention personnel.

Upon arrival, officers were briefed by store employees and taken to the loss prevention office where the suspect, Noah Phillpotts, was being held.

The store employees reportedly told police that Phillpotts was seen selecting a pair of 14” bolt cutters and 6 packages of industrial strength magnets and hiding the items under his sweatshirt.

Phillpotts then reportedly passed all registers, making no attempt to purchase the items, at which point he was intercepted by the loss prevention employees and held pending further investigation.

The employees told the officers that Phillpotts was acting very nervous and refused to open his backpack to determine whether or not more store merchandise was in it.

Phillpotts was asked by the officers what he was going to use the items for and he reportedly replied, “I use the bolt cutters to steal bikes, and the magnets to get other things”.

The officers noted in their report that the type of magnets selected by Phillpotts are used to manipulate merchandise security devices.

Phillpotts was then asked what was in his bag and he reportedly answered “nothing.”

A search of the backpack turned up 4 plastic baggies containing a green leafy substance which the officers believed to be marijuana. Each baggie differed in size and contained different amounts, and all gave off a very strong odor consistent with that of marijuana, according to reports.

The officers also discovered a digital scale, a large plastic bag containing several empty plastic baggies of various sizes, and a small metal grinder, police said.

Additionally, the officers reportedly located two mason jars, which although empty, had an intense odor consistent with marijuana coming from them. They also found a black “tightvac” brand vacuum container in the backpack, which when opened revealed an additional 6 plastic baggies of various sizes, all containing different amounts of what was believed to be marijuana.

$1650 was also found in the backpack, which Phillpotts reportedly said belonged to a friend.

Phillpotts was placed under arrest and charged with shoplifting by asportation and drug possession to distribute.