MESA, AZ — A Mesa husband and wife are facing felony charges after police say they checked out hundreds of books from the Mesa Public Library and sold them to a used bookstore, racking up more than $6,200 in unreturned library materials.

The couple was arrested on Aug. 10 at the Mesa Public Library's Red Mountain Branch, according to court paperwork. Both are now accused of trafficking stolen property, a class 2 felony, and theft, a class 4 felony.

According to court records, the scheme came to light on May 19, when a bookstore, located near Power and Southern in Mesa, contacted the Mesa Public Library after a man and woman arrived at the store attempting to sell 19 books still bearing Mesa Public Library labels and barcodes. Staff at the bookstore refused to complete the transaction and notified the library, and the pair left the books on the counter and left the store per the court paperwork.

A library employee retrieved the books, which scans confirmed were checked out to the husband, court records say. The bookstore later provided police with five transaction receipts showing the wife had sold 423 books to the store between May 7 and May 14, 2026.

A library records check revealed the male suspect held two library card accounts. One had been blocked due to $1,565.56 worth of books never returned. A second account, opened April 2, 2026, had 66 books outstanding. Library records also showed the female suspect had numerous books checked out, and when investigators compared titles checked out by both of them against the bookstore's transaction receipts, multiple titles matched.

Staff at both the library and the bookstore identified the couple from photographic lineups according to court paperwork, which went on to say library logs also showed the woman on camera on Aug. 7, removing books from shelves without checking them out as she left the library with her husband.

"Kudos to the public library for putting the pieces together and for paying attention, and for creating the paper trail that they created to give to police so police can do their part. Same with the bookstore. That was awesome,” said Mesa Police Detective Laura Cervantes.

When police arrested the couple on Aug. 10, court records say the man told investigators he and his wife frequented various libraries and said the two would knowingly check out library books using their individual accounts and she would sell them to a bookstore for money.

Court records indicate the total value of outstanding books between both accounts was $6,287.42, according to the Mesa Public Library.

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