EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Eau Claire police reported having three members of a Minneapolis-based gang of thieves in custody. Th arrests, police said, have solved a series of thefts at retail stores in Minnesota and Wisconsin that totaled goods valued at $150,000 as so far documented. Eau Claire authorities have cast their net widely for additional thefts in many jurisdictions. The investigation began November 6 when in-house detectives at Scheels sports store at Oakwood Mall stopped a shopper who had been banned from the store five days earlier. Video showed the shopper operating with others. Shortly thereafter came a report of major heists at the nearby Ulta beauty supply store. The Ulta suspects l looked like those on the video at Scheels. Arrested, all from Minneapolis, were:
> Leslie Robinson, age 64, for $66,000 in missing goods total, including $8,200 from Ulta.
> Kenneth Machen, age 21, for $4,000 in missing goods missing from Ulta and a $3,500 fishing sonar unit from Scheels.
> Roberta Howard, age 19, for $66,000 in goods missing from Scheels and $8,200 from Ulta.