Waukesha County retail thefts; Romanian sister, brother sentenced
Gabriela Constantin; Andrei Constantin
WAUKESHA, Wis. - A Romanian sister and brother convicted of stealing from multiple Waukesha County Kohl's stores in 2023 have been sentenced to time served.
Both 19-year-old Gabriela Constantin and 18-year-old Andrei Constantin pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of retail theft and had a third such charge dismissed. Gabriela was originally charged with three counts of felony retail theft.
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Their father, 36-year-old Danut Constantin, was also charged in the case. He pleaded not guilty last year to felony retail theft.
Muskego Kohl's theft
A school resource officer was called to a Kohl's Department Store in Muskego for a retail theft on Aug. 9, 2023. Two young people were "actively placing items in gift bags and were concealing the items," according to a criminal complaint.
When the officer arrived at the store, he spotted two people matching the suspects' descriptions leaving the store. The complaint states one was holding a white gift bag.
The officer activated his emergency lights, and one of them – since identified as Andrei – immediately stopped. When the officer jumped out of his squad, the complaint said he ordered the other suspect – since identified as Gabriela – to stop, and she did. They were both detained.
Prosecutors said the pair "did not speak much English but rather their main language was Romanian." When asked about the products in the gift bag, Andrei said they did not pay for them. With the help of a Kohl's loss prevention supervisor, it was determined the grand total of the items stolen was $2,462.90.
While the officer was speaking to Gabriela and Andrei, the complaint states a minivan they had been seen with left the area. Eventually, the minivan pulled back into the Kohl's parking lot at the officers' location. The operator of the vehicle, Danut Constantin, was immediately stopped and placed in handcuffs.
Danut Constantin
In an interview, the complaint states Andrei told police "his father, Danut, would operate the minivan, drop them off at the location, and wait for them until they exited the store. Once they exited the store with the items, they got into the minivan operated by Danut, who would assist in driving away."
Officers also asked Danut questions. Per the complaint, he said "he dropped his children off at Kohl's, went to Walmart for something to eat, and his wife called him, so he returned to Kohl's to see what happened to his children."
Brookfield Kohl's theft
The next day, police were called to a Brookfield Kohl's location on 124th Street. After speaking with a loss prevention manager, it was determined a theft possibly occurred on Aug. 9, 2023 – and a witness "located two suspects who stole approximately $1,200 worth of merchandise," the complaint states. Once again, the items were allegedly concealed in a gift-type party bag, the witness indicated.
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After the Brookfield incident, a detective was able to produce possible identities of the suspects – the same as those from the Muskego store. Prosecutors said a detective stated "the suspects are part of an organized crime group from Romania known as 'the Constantins.'"
Officers later made contact with Danut. They showed him pictures of the suspects involved in the retail theft at the Kohl's in Brookfield. When asked if the young people were his son and daughter, he said yes.
Delafield Kohl's theft
Lastly, investigators suspected the young siblings were responsible for a retail theft at the Delafield Kohl's store. A little more than $3,300 in merchandise was taken from that store. Again, surveillance video and a witness confirmed the same young people were involved in the theft.
Both Gabriela and Andrei Constantin were minors at the time.