Four people have been arrested in connection with stealing about $3,000 in merchandise from multiple stores at the North Georgia Premium Outlet Mall on Thursday.

Torry Sylvester Gray, 24, of Athens, Lakesha Kearria Yearby, 24, of Athens, Atanya Lareca Howard, 24, of Athens, and Jamekas Marquez Hampton, 29, of Hull, each face three counts of theft by shoplifting.

They were walking into stores with shopping bags and just dumping merchandise into the bags and walking out, Dawson County Investigator Greg Edwards said. Thats what the manager at Aeropostale told us.

Three stores had more than $500 in merchandise stolen including Aeropostale, Claires and Gymboree and lesser amounts were taken from Adidas, Pacific Sunwear, and Papaya, Edwards said.

A manager at one of the stores called Dawson 911 at approximately 5:45 p.m. and described a silver Chevy Impala and its occupants to dispatchers, who alerted the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office.

A BOLO (Be On the Look Out) was issued and Forsyth pulled the vehicle over for a traffic stop, Edwards said.

The foursome was located at approximately 6 p.m.

The outlet mall employs its own security guards. Dawson County provides routine patrol in the area.

They have their own security that patrols throughout the day, said Dawsons Capt. Tony Wooten. But if a crime is committed, they call us.

As of Monday afternoon, the foursome remained incarcerated in the Dawson County jail. Bond was set for each at $15,200.