BREAKING: Brazen Walmart shopper’s instant karma as she’s caught ‘stealing $1,500 of items’ on the worst possible day of the year
The police department revealed that she was caught on Shop With A Cop day after returning to the scene of the initial crime.
On December 3, surveillance images from the Walmart store showed a woman, believed to be Malak, leaving with a cart full of items including toys and clothes, worth around $600.
She then returned to the store on December 6, where dozens of police officers were shopping with children as part of a holiday program to choose Christmas gifts.
Malak was spotted by one of the officers, and was allegedly attempting to steal again on that very day.
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“She had filled the cart again and was ready to push it out,” Hartford police Chief Scott MacFarlan said.
“Officers intercepted her at the door and made contact with her at the time.”
Investigators found over $900 worth of stolen toys in her car in the Walmart parking lot.
The 24-year-old has been charged with felony retail theft which could get her up to 3 years and 6 months imprisonment and/or fine up to $10,000 if found guilty.
After her arrest, she allegedly told cops that “she would have shoplifted again on December 6, but changed her mind upon observing the police presence in the Walmart toy section.”
Officers said she has admitted to stealing from numerous Walmart locations across Hartford, West Bend, and Milwaukee.
She claimed she was “just trying to get gifts for her kids”, the complaint noted.
Malak was released from jail on a signature bond with a promise to appear in court or forfeit the cash bond she paid upon release.
“We were kind of incredulous that she would come back, considering there probably wasn’t a corner that you could turn around in the store and not see a police officer,” MacFarlan added.
He called the situation a “win-win” for the police department as they worked with children on a holiday program and apprehended a suspect at the same time.
The whole bizarre story was shared by the police department on Facebook, with officials recounting the “tale of yuletide timing…and truly unfortunate decision-making”.
“In an astonishing display of bad timing, a woman who had committed a felony-level retail theft a couple days prior decided that it was the perfect day to return for another round,” they said.
“Unfortunately for her, she walked straight into Walmart during the one time of year when the store is basically a satellite police station.”
“If you’re planning felony retail theft… maybe avoid the day when the building is basically 30% law enforcement and 70% wrapping paper,” they jokingly added, noting that Malak is now firmly on Santa’s naughty list.
