Nappanee Couple Facing Charges After Walmart Thefts
Staff Report
WARSAW — A Nappanee couple is facing charges after they allegedly stole items on two occasions from Walmart.
Cameron Pate, 39, 202 W. Randolph St., Nappanee, is facing two counts of theft, both Class A misdemeanors; and two counts of theft prior conviction, both Level 6 felonies.
His wife, Kym Pate, 31, of the same address, is facing one charge of theft, a Class A misdemeanor.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on Dec. 29, 2020, a Walmart employee contacted a Warsaw police officer to report that two suspects committed theft at the business on two occasions.
She said that on Dec. 24, 2020, the business tried to stop two people leaving the store with stolen items. They left the store, leaving behind items.
They paid for some items using an EBT card, and it was found the same card was used to shop at Walmart on Nov. 22, 2020.
Surveillance footage and receipts were reviewed for both purchases and showed that the two people had stolen from the store.
On Dec. 24, 2020, a Walmart employee said they believed a woman wasn’t scanning items at a self-checkout register. The live video feed was watched and it was observed that the woman wasn’t scanning multiple items that she had selected.
A man joined her and assisted with bagging items, including ones that weren’t scanned. An employee went to assist them with scanning, but they declined help.
The people in the video are seen collecting items, and the man paid for some of them. They then proceeded to leave.
The woman was approached and told that she hadn’t scanned some items. She picked up her purse and child and left the store without any merchandise. The man then tried to leave but was stopped.
He provided the receipt and said he was going to find the woman. He left and didn’t return. The value of items taken by the subjects was valued at less than $750.
Upon review of surveillance footage from the Nov. 22, 2020, incident, the same suspects arrive at Walmart in a white truck and enter the store.
They selected various items, including food, electronics and accessories and went to the self-checkout area to start scanning. The woman scanned some items while purposefully avoiding scanning others, with the man standing nearby.
She paid for some of the items and collected the merchandise. The people then leave. The man also left with a pair of sunglasses he didn’t try to buy. They left in the truck.
The merchandise taken by the suspects in that incident was also valued at less than $750.
On Dec. 30, 2020, someone told the Warsaw police officer that they thought the truck appeared to have a business logo on it. The officer spoke with someone from the company who said the man using the truck was Cameron Pate and the woman was his wife Kym Pate. The officer spoke with the owner of the truck who also identified the suspects and said he allowed Cameron Pate to drive the truck.
The officer contacted the Pates. Kym Pate admitted to stealing in both instances.
Cameron Pate was previously convicted of conversion in Howard County in July 2019.
He was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on April 24 on a $5,250 surety and cash bond. Kym Pate was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on a $600 cash bond.