On Monday, December 20, 2019, Safford police officers were called to Walmart in reference to a female shoplifter who was in custody. Earlier in the day, the responding officer had been informed by Walmart security that a white female, wearing a black shirt had walked out of the store with a bag full of merchandise. The woman was apparently seen by an employee but they were unable to contact the woman before she left the store. The officer was shown video footage of the woman. The security officer explained that the woman had been outside the store for three days because her RV was broken down in the parking lot.
When the officer returned he recognized the woman in the security office as the woman he had seen in the video. The officer asked the woman for her side of the story.
She told the officer that she and her husband had been stranded in Safford for three days because their motor home was broken down. She said that she had come into the store earlier and placed a large bag of Italian noodles and a can of corn into her bag. She admitted that she had concealed the items and walked out of the store without paying. She said that she and her husband had consumed the items.
The woman said that several hours later, she was approached in the parking lot by a man who offered to pay her to steal some merchandise for him. The man apparently offered to pay her half the value of the items she stole.
The woman went back into the store and placed several packages of ratchet straps, an extension cord and several other items into her black purse. She said that she had several other items that she paid for but she planned to steal the items the man requested. On her way out of the store she was was stopped by store employees. The items taken were valued at $47.71.
The woman was given a criminal citation for the shoplifted items and trespassed from the store.
