South Dakota couple caught with barcodes charged with theft

WORTHINGTON — Dustin Lee Starzl, 39, and Emily Jean Raczynksi, 42, both of Watertown, South Dakota, are charged in Nobles County Fifth District Court with felony-level possession of burglary or theft tools, while Starzl is also charged with gross misdemeanor fifth-degree drug possession, giving a false name to a peace officer and possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to the statement of probable cause, the charges stem from a May 18 incident when a Worthington Police Officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle with a non-functioning license plate light. While placing Starzl under arrest for an active arrest warrant, a paper reportedly fell from Starzl's possession that contained a barcode.

During booking, the officer found numerous plastic cards with barcodes stuck to them, and observed three receipts, including one from a Worthington store. The barcode on the Worthington receipt matched one that fell from Starzl's pocket.

Based on the officer's prior experience in loss prevention, he suspected the bar codes were likely used for retail theft, allowing the user to scan the barcodes at self-checkouts for alternate prices.

Starzl also possessed a baggie with crystal residue in his pants pocket, as well as two glass methamphetamine pipes, all of which field-tested positive for methamphetamine.

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Raczynksi, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was asked to exit the vehicle for a search, during which the officer located a Home Depot card with cutout bar codes taped to it, as well as multiple cut-out barcodes with double-sided tape on the backs of random plastic cards, including old gift cards, hotel room keys and bank cards, inside Raczynksi's wallet. Additional plastic cards with barcodes taped to them were found inside the center console pocket

On the charge of possession of burglary or theft tools, Starzl and Raczynksi each face a maximum three years and one day in prison and/or a $5,000 fine. Starzl's drug possession charge carries a maximum one year in jail and/or a $3,000 fine, while giving a false name to a peace officer has a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Note: This article was written based on information reported by local law enforcement agencies. The Globe reminds readers that all individuals are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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