Claypool Woman Arrested For Stealing Walmart Merchandise Several Times
Staff Report
WARSAW — A Claypool woman was recently arrested after stealing items from Walmart on multiple occasions.
Tara Lynn Schoettmer, 33, 303 W. Section St., Claypool, is charged with theft, a level 6 felony; and theft, a class A misdemeanor.
On Oct. 27, 2020, a Warsaw Police officer met with a Walmart employee about a number of thefts conducted by a single suspect, identified as Schoettmer. Court documents state there was a previous incident at the store with Schoettmer on Oct. 12, 2020, in which she purposefully failed to scan merchandise at a self-checkout register. At that time, Schoettmer also passed all points of sale without purchasing the items.
While searching transaction history on Schoettmer’s debit card used on Oct. 12, five additional incidents of theft were discovered, all of which occurred in September 2020.
In those five incidents, Schoettmer entered Walmart, selected merchandise and took it to a self-checkout register. While checking out, Schoettmer scanned some merchandise while purposefully failing to scan many other items, making the final checkout price lower. The officer reviewed surveillance footage and confirmed the thefts. The total value of items stolen from Walmart by Schoettmer is $2,022.
On Oct. 28, 2020, the officer met with Schoettmer, who was incarcerated at the Kosciusko County Jail on a drug case. During the conversation, Schoettmer did not deny purposefully failing to purchase items at Walmart.
For this theft case, Schoettmer was booked in KCJ on Jan. 30, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.