An Ohio woman was arrested while on vacation for allegedly skip-scanning over $90 worth of items at a self-checkout in Walmart.
A deputy responded to Walmart, located at 550 U.S. Hwy. 27 in Clermont, regarding retail theft around 11:37 a.m. Monday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Upon arrival, the deputy met with the complainant, a loss prevention officer for the store. She stated that while watching cameras at the self-checkout, she observed 27-year-old Keyairah Marie Hermai Harper scanning and skip-scanning items at register 31. She saw Harper scan certain items and place them in a bag while others she just put in bags, the report said.
Harper paused the transaction at one point so a Walmart host could help her out before continuing with the same behavior. She paid for some of the items she scanned but not for what she skip-scanned and placed in bags. She proceeded toward the main entrance of the store, passing all points of sale without paying for the unscanned items, the report said.
At that time, the complainant approached Harper and told her she needed to see her in the loss prevention office. She completed a sworn affidavit with intent to prosecute on behalf of the store and was given a victim’s rights pamphlet. She also advised that the total value of the unscanned items was $92.23 before they were returned to her, the report said.
The deputy watched the video surveillance where he saw Harper scanning items, including a gallon of milk that was possibly leaking. She tried to scan items that did not scan, at which time a Walmart host approached and cleared the register. Harper scanned and skip-scanned other items, placing them into bags. She next grabbed the bags and placed them inside a shopping cart with other unscanned merchandise, the report said.
The deputy spoke with Harper last. He read her rights, and she advised that she understood them and wished to speak with the deputy. She stated that she was on vacation from Ohio and was getting some groceries. She was in a rush because a family member had to be somewhere at 11:30 a.m. for a meeting regarding a promotion, the report said.
The scanner at the self-checkout register had some milk on it, and she told the host the machine was not scanning. The host came and cleaned it, but the machine continued acting up. Her son placed the bags in the shopping cart, the report said.
Harper claimed not to know the bags were there and had not been scanned. The only thing she did not scan was the meat. The deputy asked if she had any retail theft in her past, and she admitted to being arrested in 2016 for something that happened at a mall in Ohio, the report said.
The deputy conducted a criminal history check on Harper, revealing she had a dismissal of charges out of Ohio in 2016, the report said.
Harper was ultimately arrested on charge of petit theft (less than $100). She was transported to Lake County Jail and released after posting $500.