Sunset man charged in Beats headphones scheme


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SYRACUSE — A Sunset man was charged Tuesday with stealing Beats by Dre headphones, selling them, and then making double the money by returning the empty box to the store.

Nicholas Conor Slay, 37, was charged in 2nd District Court with engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony; drug possession, a third-degree felony; forgery, a third-degree felony; and five counts of communication fraud, a class B misdemeanor.

For four days in a row in October and early November, investigators say Slay would take a box that used to contain the popular headphones and return it to a local Wal-Mart, according to charging documents.

But police say the boxes were actually filled with other items so that they weighed the same as if the headphones were still inside.

"Under Miranda, (Slay) told police that he has an associate that steals the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones from Wal-Mart. The headphones are sold to individuals and (he) then takes the empty headphones box and places items inside of it to mimic the actual weight of the headphones. He then returns the empty box to Wal-Mart for cash or store gift cards," the charges state.

When Slay went back to Wal-Mart in Syracuse on Nov. 10, store employees recognized him and called police.

Slay said he used the money or gift cards he received from returning the empty boxes to purchase drugs, according to the charges. Investigators believe Slay's associate stole headphones from Wal-Mart about 12 times, and Slay allegedly returned between five and 10 empty boxes.

The headphones sell for up to $400.

Slay was also charged in a separate case on Tuesday with retail theft, a third-degree felony. In February, prosecutors say Slay took three laptops and a set of speakers with a total value of more than $2,200 from a Target store in Centerville.

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Pat Reavy

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