Police are pinning unrelated thefts on the people caught hauling away items from a Kaneohe toy store, attorneys for some of the suspects maintain.

"Just because it’s convenient to pick on these six individuals — because they were caught doing something wrong — is not right," John Schum, an attorney for one of the five women accused of theft at the Toys R Us, said by telephone Thursday.

He said his client had a job with a telephone company but was ordered Monday not to come to work until the incident was resolved.

"She’s a very nice, polite young lady who’s very embarrassed and very sorry that this has occurred," he said. She is cooperating to the fullest extent that she can, and hopefully Toys R Us will acknowledge that all the merchandise shown in the video has been returned, he said.

"It would be nice if people would respect the fact that they are human beings," he said.

For an hour on Dec. 1, five women and one man were caught on security video carrying items from Toys R Us down an employee service corridor in Windward Mall. After police released the video, four of the women arranged with attorney Myles Breiner to return the items, and they turned themselves in on Tuesday.

Breiner said most of the women took the items because they are single, unemployed mothers who wanted to meet their children’s Christmas expectations. An 18-year-old man turned himself in Thursday.

All five were booked for investigation of theft and released without charge, pending investigation. A fifth woman, who is on the mainland, will also surrender, attorneys said.

CrimeStoppers received hundreds of tips from retailers across Oahu and anonymous callers about the group, as well as callers outraged by the incident, said Sgt. Kim Buffett. She said police have been collecting tips on the group for more than a year and were reviewing footage from retailers who claim the group also stole from their stores.

She said four women and one man, believed to be members of the same group, were captured on video "blatantly" walking out of the Walmart store in Kunia with two 40-inch flat-screen televisions two days before the Toys R Us incident. She said in the Toys R Us case, the 24 items returned represent only some of the stolen goods, valued at about $1,500.

Breiner said all the taken merchandise was returned, including about a dozen items not shown on the video. He said he anticipated the store would blame the group for any lost inventory and that the Police Department "would try to clear the books" of unsolved cases "by conveniently accusing these women of being part of some massive ring."

Alen Kaneshiro, who is representing the man, said he suspects the passionate response was a result of the incident happening before Christmas.

"It’s not something that’s unique," he said. "This kind of stuff happens all the time. It’s kind of making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s more timing than anything else."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.