CRANBERRY TWP — A shoplifting crew is suspected of targeting several stores in a scheme that eventually turned stolen merchandise into money for heroin, authorities said

Cranberry police this week obtained arrest warrants and began rounding up the alleged ring members, all from Beaver County, who face multiple felonies in the crime last year.

Charged are Gretchen Ann Betz, 37, and Lacey Elaine Dean, 25, both of Beaver Falls; Angela Lynne Groom, 32, of Ambridge; and Michael Alan Schmidt, 26, of New Brighton.

The video surveillance system at the Walmart on Route 19 helped investigators unravel the theft scheme and identity the suspects, police said.

Cameras in and out of the store showed the alleged players in action on March 6, 2015.

Schmidt drove to the store with the others, according to court documents. Betz went inside and took numerous items from the infants’ department.

Police said she left with the merchandise, valued at $137.56, and returned to the car, passing off the stolen items to Groom, who was next in the store.

She went to the customer service center and returned the swiped merchandise for a store gift card. Police said she used another woman’s lost or stolen driver’s license as identification to complete the fraudulent return.

After Groom made it back to the car, Schmidt and Dean went into the store with Walmart bags that were apparently filled with stolen items previously taken from other stores, documents said.

They put the bags into a cart and headed to the customer service center, police said, but not before loading a television stand into the cart.

The couple in exchange for the stolen items received two store gift cards totaling $299.23. They returned to the car, and the four suspects drove away.

Investigators eventually tracked down Schmidt and Dean, who admitted to “committing numerous retail thefts” at different stores. They also implicated the others.

The gift cards obtained in the scheme, they admitted, were swapped for cash at pawn shops in Beaver County. The cash was “then used to purchase heroin,” according to a police affidavit.

Dean and Groom were arrested Wednesday. District Judge Sue Haggerty arraigned Dean on a list of charges and remanded her to Butler County Prison on $10,000 bail.

Groom remains free on her own recognizance while police still have warrants out for Betz and Schmidt.

All four defendants are charged with access device fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud and identity theft, all felonies.

Additionally, each is charged with theft by deception and receiving stolen property, both misdemeanors.