Two men were booked over the weekend after they attempted to get away with stealing items from a Dollar General in the Cedartown area, according to Polk County Police reports.

Donald Ray Jacobs, 56, and Christopher Smith, 50, both of Cedartown-area addresses, were taken into custody by Polk County Police on Saturday evening, February 3, 2024 at Jacobs’ residence after video evidence proved the pair were taking items from the Dollar General at the intersection of Lindsey Chapel Road and Highway 278.

Officers arrived following a shoplifting complaint from a staff member at the store when it was found that Smith and Jacobs were attempting to “skip scan” items at the self-checkout. This is a practice by which shoplifters will attempt to conceal items they are stealing while checking out other items legitimately at the self-checkout scanners.

In this case, one of the men was spotted skip scanning items at the self-checkout, while the second was seen taking a pack of gum. When staff attempted to stop the pair, one of the pair “mumbled something back” to the store associate and took off, but not before one “grabbed a box of Christmas decorations from in front of the store, placed them in the vehicle and left.”

Police were able to identify Smith and Jacobs based on the tag caught on video when they were leaving the store. Police went to Jacobs’ residence and found the pair still there with items only totaling $10.82 taken by Jacobs, and no amount listed by Smith who was found to have stolen the Christmas decorations but they were not located.

Smith and Jacobs were both taken onward to the Polk County Jail.

Jacobs remained in custody on a $1,400 bond for a felony failure to appear warrant and the shoplifting charge. Smith was released on a $1,000 bond for a single count of misdemeanor theft by shoplifting.