Former Target employee charged in iPhone, Apple Watch theft

SYCAMORE – A Target Distribution Center employee who was charged with theft after allegedly stealing an iPhone and Apple Watch on two separate occasions has been released on her signature.

Jessica Cordero, 23, of the 100 block of East Lark Avenue in Cortland, was charged Tuesday with theft of goods valued more than $500, which is punishable by probation or 2 to 5 years in prison.

According to court documents, Cordero allegedly stole an iPhone, valued at $1,200, on March 5 and an Apple Watch, valued at $380, on Sunday from the Target Distribution Center on Macom Drive in DeKalb.

Cordero was given the iPhone to bring to the distribution center's damanged merchandise cage on March 5, but the phone was not found in the cage, police said in court documents. The phone was shown to be activated later that day.

Distribution center employees put Cordero on live surveillance and gave her two Apple watches and a pair of earbuds to take to the damaged merchandise cage on Sunday, court documents said. One of the watches was not left in the cage and later seen in an equipment cart she was using.

Cordero was seen on live surveillance going to the break room with bathrooms nearby, left the building and went to the parking lot at the end of her shift, records show. Distribution center employees checked the nearby women's restroom and found torn packaging for an Apple Watch with a serial number that matched the number recorded as one of the watches she was given to put in the damaged merchandise cage.

According to court documents, Cordero signed a statement admitting what had happened on Tuesday and handed the iPhone to police after an interview. She told police the watch was "traded for services," court documents said.

Cordero confirmed during a Wednesday court hearing via closed-circuit video that she was fired from the DeKalb distribution center following the incidents.

DeKalb County Judge Philip Montgomery set a $5,000 recognizance bond for Cordero on Wednesday, meaning she was released on her own signature. Cordero is due back in court 9 a.m. May 31.