DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2026 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — A Delray Beach woman allegedly turned shopping trips to Target into a personal discount program — for months. Ashley Taylor Porro, 32, is facing a felony charge of Aggravated Retail Theft after Delray Beach Police say she used a sophisticated barcode-swapping scheme at multiple Target locations in Palm Beach County, racking up losses the retailer has been tracking since at least August 2025.
According to an arrest report reviewed by BocaNewsNow.com, the scheme worked like this: Porro would walk in, fill her cart with clothing, baby items, and other merchandise, then head to the self-checkout lane. She allegedly concealed a low-price barcode — sometimes just $3.00 or $5.00 — under her palm, and when she held higher-value items over the scanner, she scanned the cheap tag instead. On one occasion in February 2026, investigators say she used a $5.00 barcode from a child’s T-shirt to ring up eight items worth $165.96, paying just $40.00. She was frequently accompanied by her young child. Police documented at least nine separate incidents across the Delray Beach and Wellington Target stores, with individual losses ranging from $11.00 to $125.96.
Investigators connected Porro to the incidents through a combination of surveillance video, license plate reader data, and an unlikely source: a pre-employment background investigation. A City of Delray Beach employee who had conducted a home visit at Porro’s Las Verdes Circle apartment in September 2025 was later able to positively identify her from the store surveillance footage. Her white Hyundai Tucson was captured by license plate readers near the store on multiple theft dates, with timestamps matching the incidents to the minute. Facial recognition run through Clearview AI also returned results linking back to her social media.
Porro was charged with one count of Aggravated Retail Theft, a felony. She was arrested, released on bond, and is set to be arraigned net month.
