Third time the charm in catching Tide Pod and Red Bull Thief
SLINGERLANDS – A man with a history of attempting to cash fraudulent checks from local businesses is in the Albany County jail after being involved in a series of retail thefts at Market 32 on Monday, Dec. 23.
According to reports, at approximately 12:38 p.m., Bethlehem police responded to the store for a report of a possible larceny. Upon arrival, officers found that Christopher Stipe, 39, who is homeless, was still in the store with items that loss-prevention employees observed him concealing. Because he had not left the store, the incident did not qualify as larceny; however, this was not the first time this month Stipe had been observed concealing items.
Employees had submitted video evidence to police two days earlier identifying Stipe as a person who took various items, including cases of Tide Pods and Red Bull, on Dec. 7 and Dec. 20. Stipe was already known to employees from other incidents at the store and had signed an affidavit barring him from entering any Price Chopper/Market 32 location.
The affidavit, signed on Oct. 2, 2022, followed an earlier incident in which Stipe was caught stealing from the store.
Because he was prohibited from entering the premises, the charges for the two prior larcenies include petit larceny and burglary. This is due to the allegation that Stipe knowingly entered the store unlawfully and committed larceny.
Stipe was charged with two counts of burglary, both felonies, and one count of petit larceny, a misdemeanor. He allegedly stole $125.95 worth of merchandise on Dec. 7 and $218.94 on Dec. 20.
Stipe has a long history of theft and drug possession in the area. In June 2022, Bethlehem police arrested him at his Delmar residence after a three-month investigation into fraudulent checks cashed against the bank accounts of local businesses. On June 29, 2022, police spoke with him regarding two incidents in which he allegedly cashed or attempted to cash business checks that the companies did not write.
On March 18, 2022, Stipe cashed a $2,392.50 check drawn on the account of Quality PM at a KeyBank location in Troy. On the same day, he allegedly attempted to cash two additional checks at separate Rensselaer County branches. While one was rejected and the other cashed, the bank placed a hold on the business account to prevent further losses. Stipe used his driver’s license as identification when presenting the checks but was not apprehended at the time.
On April 4, 2022, Albany County Assistant District Attorney Daniel Bulger advised that since all the checks were cashed in Rensselaer County, the case would need to be handled by law enforcement there for the Quality PM incidents. Bethlehem detectives closed their case until April 22, when they received a report from the Community Bank branch in Delmar. The report stated that Stipe had attempted to open an account and cash a $3,516.80 check from RW Gate Company. The company confirmed it had not issued the check. Stipe again used his driver’s license as identification, but bank employees refused to cash the check and contacted police.
When officers and detectives went to Stipe’s home in June to question him about the checks, they witnessed him placing an item into a kitchen drawer through a window before answering the door. Stipe was taken into custody on the fraud charges. Upon inspecting the drawer, police found 14 bags containing 0.42 grams of heroin.
Stipe was charged with two counts of grand larceny and one count of possession of a forged instrument, both felonies. He also faced a misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Additionally, he had an outstanding warrant from Guilderland Police at the time. Stipe was arraigned by Bethlehem Town Justice Andrew Kirby and released on his own recognizance before being turned over to Guilderland Police to address the outstanding warrant.
Spotlight News could not find details of the adjudication of the 2022 charges in either county. However, the Price Chopper affidavit was signed after an incident in October 2022. He was not listed on the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision website as having served time in prison.
This time, however, Bethlehem Town Judge Theresa Egan set bail at $2,500 cash, $10,000 partially secured bond, or $15,000 bond. Stipe was remanded to the Albany County jail.
