Nazareth Man Swipes Portable Spa, Vacuum, Police Say

Written by Jack Tobias

Police have charged a Nazareth man with walking out of a Walmart last month with a vacuum cleaner and a portable spa and not paying for them.

And it was the girlfriend of Isaiah Michael Martinez, 24, who helped lead Colonial Regional police to the alleged shoplifter, court records say.

A loss-prevention official told police that around 7:30 p.m. June 11, he followed Martinez as he carried the items valued at $673.88 to his car, a silver 2002 Nissan Sentra sedan, court records say.

After Martinez drove away from the Lower Nazareth store on Route 248 in the Northampton Crossings shopping center, the official reviewed surveillance video and saw that Martinez had not paid for the items, the records say.

The car’s registration came back to a woman who turned out to be Martinez’s girlfriend. Police asked her who was using her car around 7 p.m.  June 11 and she said Martinez.

Police showed her a photo of a man taken from the video and she said the man “looked like Martinez,” the records say.

Martinez, of 206 Center St., second floor, in Nazareth, was arraigned Monday night by on-duty District Judge Jackie Taschner of Palmer Township on a charge of retail theft and released on $10,000 unsecured bail.