Sisters Charged With Stealing $7,800 In Merchandise From Boca Raton Department Store

Alena Malakhava and Katsiaryna Malakhava. (Photos: Palm Beach County Jail)

Two sisters from Maryland were arrested Aug. 8 after Boca Raton police said they stole more than $7,800 in merchandise from a department store at the Town Center mall.

Katsiaryna Malakhava, 41, and Alena Malakhava, 45, both of Owings Mills, Md., face a charge of grand theft, according to arrest reports and a probable cause affidavit filed in court this week. Katsiaryna Malakhava was also charged with possession of an anti-shoplifting inventory control device.

Police said a loss prevention officer was conducting surveillance on the two women inside the Saks Fifth Avenue store at 5800 W. Glades Road when they selected numerous items of clothing on the second floor around 4:23 p.m. The women entered a fitting room together a few minutes later and exited around 4:47 p.m., the affidavit said.

A store associate checked the fitting room afterward and found no merchandise matching the items the women had carried in, according to the affidavit. The sisters then left through a mall entrance without paying, passing all points of sale, police said in the report. The total value of the merchandise was listed as $7,805.59.

Inside Katsiaryna Malakhava’s purse, the loss prevention officer found a magnet, a pair of scissors and a security tag pick that police said were used to bypass electronic security tags, the report stated. Both women were detained outside the store. Katsiaryna Malakhava initially told officers she had been walking in the store when she was stopped, then declined to answer further questions. Alena Malakhava also declined to speak with police, the affidavit said.

Katsiaryna Malakhava was released from the Palm Beach County Jail after posting $10,000 bond; Alena Malakhava was freed after posting a $5,000 bond.