Mall Worker’S Pack Loaded With Jewelry

Authorities jailed a Spokane Valley Mall employee Sunday after they discovered about $11,000 worth of stolen jewelry in his backpack, the county Sheriff’s Department said.

Tariq Abdul Rahman, 19, was booked on charges of first- and third-degree theft.

Rahman, who works at Crescent Jewelers, was stopped Sunday by Bon Marche security after he left that store with merchandise he hadn’t paid for, deputies said. At that point, Rahman would have been charged with misdemeanor theft.

But a deputy searched Rahman’s backpack and found a $6,700 gold and diamond tennis bracelet with the store tag still attached, as well as a loose tag for a $4,300 diamond ring, the department said.

The deputy called Crescent Jewelers and determined that both items had been stolen from the store, deputies said.

When the deputy went to the jewelry store, he found a second backpack full of stolen clothes that were taken from J C Penney Store by Rahman, the department said.