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Shopper accused of stealing hundreds of dollars of items

A 59-year-old Linton woman is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court Oct 24 following an incident on Sept 26 in which she allegedly took nearly $700 in items from Wal-Mart while only paying for $280 of them.

deborah anne frederick

Cayden Walker of the Linton Police Department was contacted by a Wal-Mart asset protection employee regarding a customer, later identified as Deborah Anne Frederick, failing to scan and pay for all of the items in her cart. According to a Wal-Mart asset protection employee Frederick had nearly $700 worth of items in her cart but had only paid for $280 of them.

When Walker asked Frederick what happened, she said she had a medical condition that causes her a lot of pain and trouble with her hands. She said it affects her concentration. She told Walker, “I missed a lot of things. I rang some things up wrong. It happens.” 

According to the probable cause affidavit, many items not scanned were inside reusable bags. 

Frederick said she wanted to pay for her items, stating this had never happened before. Walker asked the Wal-Mart asset protection employee if she could and he denied her request stating she only paid for $280 of nearly $700. 

Frederick asked Walker if she could not pay for the items, what else could they talk about. Walker said he wanted her side of the story to which Frederick said she had already given. Walker asked about her medical condition and medications and how they could impact her not scanning iems. Frederick told Walker that without going into detail, she had a laundry list of conditions and medications, none of which he would understand. 

The items paid for were loaded into Frederick’s car while she was transported to Greene County Jail.  Her bond was set at $1000 surety with 10% cash allowed. She posted $100 and was released later the same day. 

Frederick was scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court on Oct. 3 however a continuance was granted and her initial hearing was rescheduled to Oct. 24. Initial hearing was set for Oct. 3 but rescheduled for Oct. 24 as Frederick requested continuance of initial hearing. When appearing in court, she will be formally charged with theft, a Class A misdemeanor.