Holiday Shoplifting Tac Plan Update 1-3-25

Today during a press conference at the main, Chief Medina announced 33 felony shoplifting cases as a result of APD’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Tactical plan.

Back in November, Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina along with other dignitaries held a press conference to announce the beginning of the holiday shopping season and the department’s plans to address crime in the busiest shopping districts of the city. During the holiday tactical plan, there were 91 arrests made; 33 were for felony shoplifting, 25 for misdemeanor shoplifting. The remaining arrests included warrants, and other charges such as conspiracy and possession of a controlled substance. 

A total of 50 warrants were cleared during the operations and approximately $28,000 worth of stolen merchandise was recovered.

APD’s Organized Crime Detectives (OCU) and Field Services Northeast and Northwest Problem Response Teams worked together across the city during the operations to generate these results.  

Ryan Matthew Schuessler, 44, was one of the individuals arrested during the holiday tactical plan. A local retail store has approximately 21 other cases pending in which Schuessler is the suspect. OCU detectives are working to compile the cases. The accumulated amount of stolen merchandise is approximately $9,000. With the assistance of the new shoplifting aggregation law, detectives are able to compile all shoplifting cases against an individual within the last 90 days and combine the total of stolen merchandise.

Michael Utzler, 46, and Joseph Higginbotham, 47 were arrested more than once by officers during the Holiday Tactical Plan. Utzler was arrested three times and Higginbotham was arrested twice. 

The holiday operations ran from Black Friday through January 3, 2025.