Akron Woman Arrested For Stealing Items From Walmart
Staff Report
WARSAW — An Akron woman was arrested after multiple thefts of merchandise from Walmart.
Rhonda Ila Sechrist, 43, 9891 W. CR 1000S, Akron, is charged with three counts of making a false sales document and three counts of theft with a prior conviction, all level 6 felonies; and three counts of theft, all class A misdemeanors.
On Oct. 31, a Warsaw Police officer went to Walmart regarding a shoplifting report. The officer spoke with a store employee, who said a woman, later identified as Sechrist, and a man were exiting the store when an employee asked to see their receipt for items not bagged in their shopping cart. There was an air fryer and air mattress in the cart that was not on the receipt. The employee took the air fryer from the cart and Sechrist left the business while still in possession of the air mattress, which had not been paid for.
On Nov. 1, the officer went to Walmart to review surveillance footage of the man and Sechrist in the store on Oct. 31. According to court documents, the video footage showed the man and Sechrist enter the store, pick up a a handheld vacuum and go to the service desk in an attempt to obtain a refund as if they had purchased it. However, the refund was denied because Sechrist had too many no-receipt refunds and the man did not have any identification on him.
The two are then shown using a self-checkout to scan items with false UPC codes. This is done several times, with the air mattress never being scanned.
On Nov. 7, the Warsaw Police Department was contacted regarding Sechrist being present at Walmart. Sechrist admitted to the Oct. 31 thefts while with the man. She also admitted to switching UPC codes so merchandise would ring up at a lower price than the item being scanned. The value of items falsified with UPC codes on Oct. 31 was $281.71; the value of items falsified on Nov. 7 was $155.42.
On Nov. 17, the Warsaw Police Department was contacted about a theft that occurred at Walmart. The theft occurred on Oct. 27. At the time, the suspects were not able to be identified but since then had been identified as Sechrist and the man.
On Oct. 27, Sechrist and the man selected multiple items of merchandise and brought them to a self-checkout. Sechrist began scanning items and while scanning, she purposefully covered the UPC of more expensive items with cheaper items’ UPCs. The two then took the items they fraudulently purchased and passed all points of sale without attempting to make a proper purchase of the items. The value of items falsified with UPC codes on Oct. 27 was $46.31.
Sechrist was previously convicted of conversion in 2016.
For these thefts, Sechrist was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Nov. 7, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.
Charges against the man accompanying Sechrist have yet to be filed.