Six teens arrested, one sought for stealing $22,000 in Kohl’s merchandise

CEDAR FALLS - Police arrested six teenagers Tuesday and are looking for a seventh in connection with a series of thefts at a department store over the course of two weeks in December.

Investigators say a 17-year-old cashier at Kohl's helped her friends take a total of $22,136.58 in merchandise without paying between December 3 and December 17, 2014.

The employee would scan the items and then void the transaction, allowing her friends to leave the store with the merchandise and the voided receipts, according to a release from the Cedar Falls Police Department.

Captain Jeff Harrenstein said the majority of the items taken were men's and women's apparel. He said authorities were not able to recover most of what was taken.

'A very small percentage was turned in by the arrestees, but the majority, absolutely not,” Harrenstein said.

The store employee was arrested and charged with first-degree theft. Five others, ranging in age from 16 to 18, were also arrested and charged with second- or third-degree theft. One friend, 18-year-old Marqwane Smith, has a warrant for second-degree theft in connection with the case.

The Gazette does not typically publish the names of minors accused of non-violent crimes.