58-Year-Old Criminal Arrested After Allegedly Stealing $10K Worth Of Merchandise From Outlets

Timothy Root was taken into custody after he was accused of taking the merchandise at the Hershey Tanger Outlets

A Pennsylvania man faces multiple charges, including burglary and criminal mischief, after Lebanon City Police officers stopped him in an alleged stolen vehicle with a stolen registration plate. When stopped, he was discovered with 32 stolen jackets worth $10,000 from the Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Outlet Store.

According to ABC 27 WHTM, Timothy Root was taken into custody after being accused of taking merchandise at the Hershey Tanger Outlets. The incident occurred on Jan. 25, after Derry Township Police officers responded to a burglar alarm at the Polo Ralph Lauren Outlet. When they arrived, they discovered the front door smashed and 32 jackets worth over $10,000 stolen.

The Lebanon City Police Department’s website states that Root was charged with receiving stolen property after he was found operating a stolen motor vehicle near Hanover Street and Walnut Street.

The suspect is a repeat offender as he was previously arrested last summer in July after he allegedly used a sledgehammer to take merchandise out of the Hershey Nike outlet in March 2024. Reportedly, he had supposedly taken nearly $7,400 in items from the store. Last year, Root was also identified as a suspect in multiple burglaries in 2024 from the Hershey Puma outlet, the Lancaster Calin Klein outlet, and a New Jersey GUESS outlet. Authorities charged him with burglary and theft, among other offenses.

Local 21 News reported that Root, 58, is still awaiting a preliminary hearing at the Lebanon County Prison.

According to The Daily Voice, he was also arrested in Virginia for similar crimes. The Leesburg Police Department accused Root of allegedly breaking into the Aeropostale store at the Leesburg Premium Outlets around 5:10 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2024. He was accused of taking approximately $6,500 worth of merchandise and causing $2,276 in property damage at the shopping center.

The career criminal has a record that goes back 40 years across several Pennsylvania counties, including Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Monroe, Montgomery, Bucks, and Philadelphia. These past charges include multiple felony burglary and theft charges and past convictions for robbery, receiving stolen property, criminal conspiracy, aggravated assault, and firearms offenses.