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VietnameseGriffin: ‘This operation shows our continued commitment to eradicating this type of crime in Arkansas’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing the results of an organized retail crime blitz in Jonesboro:
“Last week, investigators from my office led an organized retail crime blitz in Jonesboro with the cooperation of the Jonesboro Police Department and 13 retail store locations. We arrested 16 individuals on theft charges and identified five additional suspects. Some of those we arrested were charged with additional crimes such as drug possession, tampering with evidence, and forgery. In total, more than 60 charges were brought as a result of the blitz, about half of which were felony charges.
“This operation shows our continued commitment to eradicating this type of crime in Arkansas. We are working with law enforcement agencies and private sector partners across the state to gather intelligence, arrest perpetrators, and ultimately hold bad actors accountable. “I am grateful to the investigators in my Special Investigations Division, particularly Gerald Harrelson, who is our dedicated organized retail crime investigator. I am also thankful for the support and cooperation of the Jonesboro Police Department, as well as 2nd Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney Sonia Hagood.”
The retail stores that assisted with the blitz were Walmart (two locations), Walgreens (two locations), Target, Dollar Tree, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Academy Sports, Kohl’s, and Burlington Coat Factory.
Since announcing organized retail crime as an investigative priority in 2023, Griffin’s office has participated in operations that have resulted in 44 arrests and the recovery of more than $600,000 in stolen merchandise.
To download a PDF of this release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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