Two men have been arrested in connection with a string of 27 check fraud incidents where they allegedly stole more than $30,000 from Target stores in the East Valley, Chandler police said.

Demetri Novakovich and Ricardo Valle, 35, of Laveen, were arrested Friday at a Target in the 2000 block of N. Arizona Avenue after Novakovich allegedly used a forged check to purchase four Visa gift cards totaling $275, according to a Chandler police report.

The arrest came after two store security guards stopped the pair as they left the store. The guards recognized both suspects when they came into the store from an internal fraud bulletin that had their photos. Novakovich struck one of the guards in the face, police said.

Police said they also found marijuana on Novakovich, as well as two drivers licenses, including one that was illegally altered. He also had 10 Visa Gift cards and another forged check, according to police. Novakovich also had an outstanding out-of-state warrant for theft and fraudulent use of debit devices, police said.

Novakovich and Valle were both booked into the Maricopa County Jail on forgery and conspiracy charges, police said.