North Texas boot bandit steals boots by hiding them in his pants: police

WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas - A man and a woman have been arrested for multiple thefts from Boot Barn and Cavender's Boot City stores across North Texas totaling thousands of dollars.

The husband-and-wife team are believed to be involved in a retail theft ring and other family members are possibly involved.

White Settlement Boot Barn thefts

What we know:

The White Settlement Police Department says it's been investigating multiple retail thefts over the past several weeks at the Boot Barn off I-30. 

Police believe the couple would steal the merchandise and other family members would sell it on Facebook Marketplace.

Investigators say in each case, the two were caught on surveillance cameras. The woman would point to a pair of boots and the man would hide them in his pants. In some cases, he was able to hide up to four pairs of boots at a time.

Timeline:

According to police, on Feb. 16, the man walked outside the Boot Barn with four pairs of boots hidden in his pants, removed the boots while inside their vehicle, then went back into the store five minutes later and hid another four pairs of boots inside his pants and left the store without paying. 

The eight pairs of boots were worth about $3,800 (before taxes).

"They’re all the way down to his ankles. I mean, he’s sticking them pretty far down. "On the first occasion, he went to the restroom, and I’m assuming shuffled them around a little bit and then exited the store," said White Settlement Police Det. Geovanny Ramirez.

"So he was wearing some really baggy pants. And in the videos, when you slow it down, you can definitely see the shape of a boot, especially as big as boots are, right? With the shape at the heel. You can see the boots kind of sticking out. He walks a little funny, too, because he’s not gonna walk normally with four pairs of boots in your pants," added the detective.

Then on Feb. 22, police say the man returned to the White Settlement Boot Barn and stole more boots, worth more than $1,000. Police say in that instance, he changed his appearance by shaving his beard.

On Feb. 23, the couple returned to the same Boot Barn, but the employees recognized them and called 911. 

The couple quickly left the store before police arrived.

In the three offenses that occurred in White Settlement, the total value of stolen property was $4,875.

Theft ring arrests

What Happened:

On Feb. 25, the couple's license plate on their vehicle gave away their location. A license plate reader database showed the vehicle was spotted in the Northwest area of Fort Worth. 

Investigators found the vehicle at a motel in north Fort Worth, off of I-35 and I-820.

The Fort Worth Police Department helped the White Settlement Police Department take both the man and woman into custody without incident.

Police say there were multiple pairs of boots, ball caps and clothing that are believed to belong to Boot Barn and Cavender's inside the motel room.

The man has been identified as 57-year-old Valentine Cardenas. He is charged with four counts of theft of property with two or more previous convictions. 

The woman has been identified as 47-year-old Melissa Marez. She is charged with one count of theft of property.

Both have bonded out of the Tarrant County jail.

Detectives are working with area departments to link additional offenses and charges to the suspects. The department has not ruled out the possibility of charging additional family members.