A 19-year-old Maricopa woman was arrested after what police say was her fifth alleged shoplifting incident since May ended at Walmart last week, according to InMaricopa.
Walmart security stopped Caleigh R. Kaufmann as she tried to leave the store around 4:34 p.m. on Aug. 8 with nearly $110 in cosmetics, according to a probable cause statement. Police said surveillance video showed her putting several cosmetic items into her backpack before heading out.
According to the statement, Kaufmann told police she stole the items because she was unemployed and could not afford to buy them. She also said her boyfriend did not know she was shoplifting, though she said he had told her not to do it.
Police said the alleged thefts did not start there. The probable cause statement says Kaufmann had four other shoplifting incidents between May and July involving items worth between $13 and $23. Several hours after her arrest, she also told police she had shoplifted multiple times while employed at Walmart, taking drinks, cell phone chargers and cases, and other miscellaneous items.
InMaricopa reported that the case is part of a recent string of shoplifting attempts at the Maricopa Walmart. In other incidents, people allegedly used weeks-old receipts as proof of purchase and claimed they did not know how to use Walmart’s cellphone app.
