Police: Four stole $181K worth of baby formula from Conewago Twp. warehouse

Four people are accused of stealing more than $181,000 worth of a baby formula from a Conewago Township warehouse in less than a two-year period, according to officials.

Northern York County Regional Police say Terrance "Terry" Banks, Brayonna Marsae Hargrove, Jennifer Lynn Bagshaw and Pierre Deshawn Bagshaw all conspired to steal and sell baby formula from the ES3 warehouse at 4875 Susquehanna Trail.

Hargrove, 22, of the 600 block of Wyncroft Lane, Lancaster; Pierre Bagshaw, 46, of the 700 block of Wyncroft Terrace; and Banks, 41, of Bruaw Drive, Manchester Township, face charges of corrupt organizations, conspiracy to commit theft, theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

Jennifer Bagshaw, 42, who lives with husband, Pierre, is charged with the same offenses. As of Monday, July 16, she was the only one who had been arraigned on the charges.

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Thefts: Northern Regional Police were notified of the thefts in April, when three 55-gallon trash cans were found filled with baby formula powder at the warehouse, charging documents state. 

Police say 48 cases — totaling $4,608 — were pulled from the trash cans.

Employees at the facility identified Pierre Bagshaw and Banks, employees there, as the ones behind the thefts, according to police.

Officials say  baby formula had gone missing from the warehouse as far back as the beginning of 2016, but there were only records of the thefts going back to September 2016. 

During that time, 1,892 cases of baby formula were stolen, totaling $181,632, documents state.

Banks, an employee since 2011, and Pierre Bagshaw, an employee since 2012, ride together to and from work, according to police. Officials say when they leave work, they always leave from the door closest to the baby formula.

Investigation: In speaking to warehouse employees, one employee recalled a time where Pierre Bagshaw was driving a pallet of baby formula in an area he wasn't supposed to be in, documents state.

When that employee asked what Pierre Bagshaw was doing, he allegedly said "Grocery shopping," according to authorities.

Another person told authorities that he spotted Pierre Bagshaw filling 20 airbags with formula and that Pierre Bagshaw offered him $100 to look the other way, charging documents indicate. The employee instead told the supervisor, according to police.

Police spoke to Pierre Bagshaw and seized his phone, court documents state. He told them he "had nothing to hide," police said.

He also denied being involved in "any type of theft from ES3," according to officials.

While searching Pierre Bagshaw's phone, authorities found multiple messages between other people discussing the purchase of baby formula, documents state.

In one message, dated April 18, 2017, Banks told Pierre Bagshaw that the warehouse thought "shrinkage" was up $6,000 more than usual, according to officials.

"That's all the damages ... lol," Banks allegedly messaged Pierre Bagshaw.

Shrinkage, according to police, is a term used at ES3 to help adjust for items that are damaged.

An April 2017 message also implicates Hargrove, saying that Banks told her to bring the formula but couldn't find the house, charging documents state. Police say Hargrove was involved in a transport of a large amount of stolen baby formula.

In April 2017, Jennifer Bagshaw messaged her husband and asked if he could get formula for a woman she knew from work, charging documents state.

Additional similar messages were discovered, including one where she suggested selling to a grocery store in Reading, officials said. Jennifer Bagshaw tried to sell 852 cans of baby formula for $5,000 to a grocery store, charging documents allege.

Another message from an unknown person asked for a large quantity of formula, and that person, according to police, has not yet been identified.

Jennifer Bagshaw remains free after posting $50,000 bail. Reached Friday, July 13, Chris Bare, her attorney maintained that the charges were just allegations.

“At this point the charges against my client are just merely allegations, I have not seen any evidence that indicates that my client has committed any of the offenses,” he said.

Charges for the four were filed on June 26. 

— Reach Christopher Dornblaser at cdornblaser@yorkdispatch.com or on Twitter at @YDDornblaser.