March 18, 2009
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

FARMER'S MARKET BUSINESS BUSTED FOR SELLING STOLEN GOODS

Chantz Harper had a pretty good little business going, selling health, beauty and hygiene products each week at a farmer’s market near DeLand. And the profit margin was great, considering the 37-year-old Harper was stealing the goods in clever fashion from local stores and then selling the products from his booth at the Wednesday market at the Volusia County Agricultural Center. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, however, put a halt to Harper’s criminal enterprise on Wednesday when they arrested him at the market on a felony charge of dealing in stolen property.

Harper came under the Sheriff’s Office’s scrutiny back in January, after deputies received a tip that he was stealing goods from retail stores such as Publix, Winn-Dixie, Target, Albertsons and Wal-Mart and then selling the products at the farmer’s market. Harper, who resides in Orange City, was released from prison in November after serving time for burglary and grand theft. After receiving the tip, deputies launched a criminal investigation -- placing Harper under surveillance, following him to retail stores to observe his activity and sending an undercover operative to the farmer’s market to buy products from him. Based on the investigation, conducted by Sheriff’s Sergeant Virgil Ford and investigators Greg Seymour and Chuck Lee, Harper would routinely shoplift a range of products that he then sold at below-retail prices at flea markets and swap meets in Central Florida, including DeLand, Port Orange and in Sumter County. In some cases, he would shoplift the products by concealing them in plastic bins or the pockets of a large parka he often wore. Other times, he would pick up large bags of dog food, cut holes in the bags while still in the stores and then shove items to steal into the bags before checking out and paying for the dog food. The products ran the gamut, from over-the-counter medicines, teeth whiteners and hair products to soap, deodorant, wrinkle cream, lip treatment and moisturizer. On the flea market circuit, Harper would boast to potential customers that he had the lowest prices in town. When undercover investigators went to the DeLand market on Jan. 14 to look over Harper’s display table, they spotted several bags of dog food that had cuts in the tops of the bags.

After investigators presented their findings to Circuit Court Judge Hubert L. Grimes, the judge issued a warrant for Harper’s arrest. The Sheriff’s Office obtained the warrant on Tuesday, but waited until Wednesday to serve it since they knew exactly where to find Harper. He was taken into custody at around 9:30 a.m. at the farmer’s market in DeLand. Investigators seized approximately $7,000 worth of merchandise during the arrest. Harper was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on $20,000 bond.