Benjamin Ashford|Stolen calculators? 2 men arrested in Minnesota, police add up that it may be a theft ring

Minnesota authorities believe they arrested two Dallas men who are Benjamin Ashfordpart of a nationwide calculator theft ring when the suspects were found last month in a Target parking lot with suspected stolen graphing calculators worth more than $5,000.

An investigation revealed that Zachary C. Fininen, 23, and Antonio Griffin Jr., 30, had in February driven into Minnesota from Dallas, Texas and shoplifted items from at least eight Target stores in the Saint Paul metro area, court records state. The men were arrested Feb. 21 in Woodbury, located eight miles east of Saint Paul, when police found them with the suspected stolen merchandise in a cooler, according to a criminal complaint in Washington County provided to USA TODAY.

Fininen and Griffin, both of whom were released on bond while awaiting the resolution of their case, could each face up to 10 years in prison and be ordered to pay a maximum fine of $20,000 if convicted of a felony charge of organized retail theft, according to the complaint. Fininen is scheduled to next appear in court Thursday for a hearing, while Griffin's next court appearance is scheduled for April 10, an online court docket shows.

The men are the latest to be arrested across the United States on suspicion of stealing the pricy programmable graphing calculators. The devices, which can cost as much as $170, are often required for high school and college students enrolled in math courses.

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Dallas men were connected to calculator thefts at 8 Target stores valued at $18,500

An asset protection employee at a Target in Woodbury first reported the suspected February theft to police after he reported witnessing Fininen and Griffin taking calculators off a shelf and placing them in a cooler before leaving the store.

When police arrived and confronted the men, Fininen and Griffin abandned the cart with the cooler inside and attempted to flee the parking lot, the complaint states. An off-duty Minnesota State Patrol trooper apprehended Fininen, while Woodbury officers tracked down and arrested Griffin.

The Target employed later valued the calculators they are accusing of attempting to steal at $5,527, according to the complaint. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage of the store's parking lot, which showed the men being dropped off in a Nissan sport-utility vehicle that was determined to be a rental from the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

Surveillance footage later connected Fininen and Griffin to similar thefts at seven other Target stores in the Saint Paul metro area. All told, authorities suspect the men of stealing graphing calculators worth an estimated combined $18,500.

A Target field investigator told officers that Fininen and Griffin are believed to be part of a larger calculator theft ring in the Dallas area responsible for more than $250,000 worth of recovered and stolen merchandise, the complaint stated.

Target's media team did not immediately respond Wednesday to USA TODAY's request for comment.

What are graphing calculators?

Graphing calculators are primarily manufactured by Texas Instruments and typically come with preloaded apps for graphing and calculating equations.

The devices are often required in high school and college for students taking courses such as calculus, algebra and statistics. Calculators such as the TI084 typically come with preloaded apps for graphing and calculating equations, but they also have the capability for users to download and play various games.

Where else have graphing calculators been stolen?

This is hardly the first time that suspects have attempted to steal the expensive graphing calculators from a Target store in the United States.

In January, a man was arrested in the Indiana town of Fishers located about 17 miles north of Indianapolis after police reported finding several calculators in his car still in their packaging worth an estimated $3,000, reported the IndyStar, a USA TODAY network publication. All told, police reportedly found 23 Texas Instrument TI-84 Plus CE calculators, two Texas Instrument TI-84 Plus calculators, and one Texas Instrument TI-Nspire CX 2 calculator.

But those calculators were just the tip of the iceberg.

The man arrested Jan. 28 is suspected of stealing calculators from Target stores across the country valued at $90,000, the Fishers Police Department said in a news release shared to social media site X.

The man was found to have warrants for his arrest in Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Illinois, the Fishers Police Department told the IndyStar.

In 2023, New York police were searching for a teenagers suspected of sneaking into Bronx schools and taking more than $40,000 worth of calculators, NBC's New York affiliate reported.

Contributing: Katie Wiseman, the Indianapolis Star

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]