Alex Thomas
A Florida woman was arrested Monday after police say she spent only $3.70 on more than $1,800 worth of goods in the self-checkout lane at a Walmart.
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Cheyenne West, 25, was charged with felony grand theft and felony shoplifting after a loss prevention officer told police that he saw her and another woman pick out electronics including a computer and video games. Authorities allege that the suspects took stickers from goods in the clearance department and put them on the more expensive items then paid in the self-checkout, TC Palm reports.
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In the end, they paid only $3.70 for more than $1,800 worth of goods, saving $1,821. When police confronted West about the theft, she said “I’m just trying to get gifts for my son that I cannot afford. The computer is for my husband. Since he just got me a Coach purse, I figured he deserved something nice.” Unfortunately for West, her price-slashing actually cost her money as she was later booked into the Indian River County Jail on $3,000 bail. The other woman has not been charged.
At Walmart, theft is a pretty large problem. The company claims that they lose $3 billion each year to theft–a number equivalent to 1 percent of it’s annual revenue. Forbes ran the numbers on Walmart’s shoplifting problem and discovered that it doesn’t make economic sense for the company to spend the money necessary to combat theft because, in order to be effective, they would spend more than they lose.
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