Empty Stroller, Full Loot: The $2,000 Retail Theft Halted at Garden State Plaza

Baby Stroller Used in Attempted Garden State Plaza Heist

file photo by Boyd Loving

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, The Saturday after Christmas is usually the busiest day for returns and post-holiday deals at Westfield Garden State Plaza. But on December 27, 2025, one “shopper” was caught trying to pull off a brazen high-end heist using an unusual getaway vehicle: a baby stroller.

What looked like a mother pushing a sleeping infant through the Paramus mall was actually a mobile storage unit for nearly $2,000 worth of luxury athleisure, according to police.

🛒 The “Stroller Heist” Details

Around 6:30 p.m., as the mall reached peak capacity, an alert employee at Lululemon noticed something suspicious. A woman was pushing a stroller draped with a blue blanket—but there was no child in sight.

The Bust:

• The Target: Merchandise was allegedly swiped from both Lululemon and Alo Yoga.

• The Discovery: Paramus Police and mall security intercepted the woman near “Door No. 5” as she attempted to exit to the parking lot.

• The Loot: Inside the stroller, officers found $1,946 in stolen clothing.

• The Suspect: Police identified the woman as Iman Barnes, 37, of Newark.

Barnes was charged with third-degree receiving stolen property and possession of burglary tools. She was transported to the Bergen County Jail pending her first court appearance.

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📉 A Season of Retail Crime in Paramus

This “stroller heist” is just the latest in a wave of high-value thefts hitting New Jersey’s premier shopping destination this December. Paramus police have been on high alert, recently busting several organized rings.

The December 15 Crackdown

Just two weeks prior, Paramus authorities recovered over $11,000 in stolen goods in a single day:

• Case 1: Two women from New York were caught making “shuttle runs” between the mall and their car. They were found with $9,144 in merchandise from Lululemon, Alo Yoga, and Aritzia, hidden in foil-lined “booster bags” designed to bypass security sensors.

• Case 2: Later that same evening, two other women were arrested with $2,190 in luxury items from retailers including UGG, Zara, Nordstrom, and The North Face.

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🚔 Increased Security for 2026

With organized retail theft on the rise, Westfield Garden State Plaza and Paramus Police have significantly increased their “Anti-Crime” presence. Shoppers can expect to see more undercover detectives and plainclothes officers patrolling high-end corridors in early 2026.

Police Chief Robert Guidetti emphasized that the collaboration between store loss-prevention teams and local police is the mall’s strongest defense against professional shoplifters.

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Garden State Plaza Theft Tracker: Dec 2025

Incident Date	Method	Value Recovered	Main Targets
Dec 15 (PM)	“Booster Bags”	$9,144	Lululemon, Alo, Aritzia
Dec 15 (Late)	Mercedes Getaway	$2,190	UGG, Zara, North Face
Dec 27	Baby Stroller	$1,946	Lululemon, Alo Yoga

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