Man Arrested After Trying to Steal Items in a Piece of Luggage from Target in Watertown

Watertown Police arrested a man who was caught smuggling out unpaid merchandise from Target in a piece of luggage - a scam he had pulled three previous times.

The man, identified as John E. Benbow, 54, allegedly placed some sheets and pieces of clothing into a piece of luggage and tried to roll it out of the store without paying, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. 

The items taken during the incident on Oct. 6 at 10:33 a.m. were worth a total of $611.90, Lawn said.

"Target security discovered he had done the same thing on three previous occasions," Lawn said. 

On Sept. 24, he took $372.95 worth of merchandise, on Sept. 30 he stole $449.94 and on Oct. 1 he took $399.95 worth of items, Lawn said.

John E. Benbow, 54, homeless, was arrested on four counts of larceny over $250, and he had an arrest warrant from Somerville District Court for larceny over $250, Lawn said.