Inset left to right: Hala Kamel and Afnane Kamel (Polk County Sheriff”s Office). Background: The Target where the Kamel sisters allegedly stole thousands of dollars in merchandise in Davenport, Fla. (Google Maps).
In a recent incident in Florida, two sisters found themselves in legal trouble after a shopping excursion at a large retail store ended unfavorably. The women were apprehended following accusations of theft, with a late attempt at an apology proving insufficient to avoid arrest, according to local authorities.
The sisters, Afnane Kamel, aged 19, and Hala Kamel, aged 32, are facing charges of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft, as reported by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident took place on November 4th at a Target located on Grandview Parkway in Davenport, roughly 35 miles southwest of Orlando. According to an affidavit reviewed by LawCrime, deputies responded to a call about a retail theft at the location.
By the time law enforcement arrived, just before 9 p.m., the sisters were already detained by store personnel in the loss prevention office, as detailed in the affidavit.
A store employee, referencing surveillance footage, informed deputies that the sisters entered the store around 7:30 p.m. The employee recounted observing Hala and Afnane quickly selecting items throughout the store and placing them into two shopping carts they had with them at the time of the incident.
The affidavit further detailed the employee’s observations of the sisters’ actions, noting that they attempted to hide some of the items by spreading Target shopping bags over them within the carts.
The employee described an attempt by both defendants to conceal two shopping carts “full of unpaid Target merchandise with the shopping bags” before “walking to the front entrance of the store,” according to the affidavit.
Just before 8:30 p.m., the pair were seen on surveillance footage “walking past all final points of sale, and continuing towards the front entrance doors with the concealed shopping carts,” the affidavit alleges. Then, the employee himself is seen on the video stopping both sisters and escorting them to the loss prevention office.
In sum, the total value of the merchandise allegedly stolen by the duo was $2,487.70 – before tax – according to the sheriff’s office.
But the siblings said they could afford it, deputies say.
“Upon initial contact with Hala and Afnane they spontaneously stated they could pay the amount owed in order to get out of trouble with law enforcement,” the affidavit goes on.
After being read their Miranda rights, both defendants allegedly “admitted to taking the items from Target” and said they “decided to steal the items while in the store and not before,” the affidavit continues.
The defendants were subsequently arrested and detained in the Polk County Jail. They were both granted and posted bond – though in slightly different amounts – on Nov. 12, court records show.
“When you walk into a store and try to leave with nearly $2,500 worth of unpaid merchandise, that’s not a mistake—that’s a crime,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press release. “Thanks to a vigilant associate who saw something and said something, our deputies were able to respond quickly and make the arrest.”
