Video: Woman busted after playing shoplifting game, later charged with drug trafficking
Amber McCann was arrested in the parking lot of a Walmart in Florida, March 25, 2024. (Flagler Co. Sheriff’s Office)
PALM COAST, Fla. (TND) — A “concerned citizen” who reported a shoplifter at a Walmart is being credited with helping catch somebody who’s now facing some more serious charges: trafficking methamphetamine and other narcotics.
Authorities in Florida were told a woman “had passed all points of sale and refused to show her receipt for a cart full of items,” early last Monday evening, March 25.
Then, they reported being told she put “the stolen items” in a car but then ran away “once she noticed someone watching her.”
Deputies in the parking lot found “the vehicle matching the description” and “observed stolen items on the back seat.
SEE ALSO:
- It’s this woman’s 3rd arrest at one particular Walmart
- Senior shoplifting suspects go to jail together
- ‘Dirtbag’ ex-con arrested for taking the whole cash register
“Deputies then observed a female fitting the suspect’s description walking towards the store.”
WARNING: Video of McCann before and after her arrest, along with showing what deputies found, contains some harsh language.
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https://www.facebook.com/flaglersheriff/videos/3602733079985290/&show_text=false&width=560&t=0
Authorities released video of what happened next: their conversation with the suspect, Amber McCann, as well as what they found in the car.
McCann “admitted that she carried a loaded cart full of stolen items to a car.
“She claimed that it was a random car she found and placed the stolen items and her purse inside when she saw law enforcement arriving.”
Soon after, McCann corrected herself about the car and gave deputies details about the shoplifting.
“She was playing a game called ‘21,’” she said, “where someone grabs as much merchandise from a store and walks out without paying for them, while trying not to get caught.
“After being secured, she changed her story and said the vehicle had not been random, but in fact was a rental car that belonged to her boyfriend.”
Deputies went to remove the stolen merchandise from the car but soon stumbled upon more than just shoplifting.
“Deputies detected a clear and distinct odor of marijuana emanating from within the vehicle,” they said. Then, “During a probable cause search, they located a partially burnt marijuana cigarette in the center console.
“Additional baggies containing marijuana, along with a digital scale, hashish, a glass pipe with burnt residue, and empty baggies were found in the trunk of the vehicle.
“They also located a locked bag which contained two plastic baggies containing a clear, crystal-like substance, which tested positive for methamphetamine, and another baggie containing two yellow tablets identified as alprazolam, which is a Schedule IV controlled substance.
“Inside a locked safe, deputies located various 1-ounce silver bars and rounds, copper bars, and a 1-gram platinum bar.
“In total, deputies recovered four bags containing methamphetamine, which weighed a combined 62 grams.”
McCann wasn’t happy, handcuffed behind her back in the back of the patrol car.
She’s charged with grand theft shoplifting, since the store manager said the stolen items were worth $1,030.
Her drug charges are possession of a small amount of marijuana, possession of hashish, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of alprazolam, and trafficking of methamphetamine.
Bond for McCann, 30, was set at $34,000. She has not been released from jail.
Port Charlotte man arrested after pointing air rifle at cars in Walmart parking lot
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. —
A man who had previously been banned from a retail store was arrested Monday outside a Walmart after he was seen pointing a rifle at vehicles in the parking lot, prompting a 911 call from a concerned witness.
According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, deputies responded shortly before noon to a report of a man with a gun in the parking lot of a Walmart on Murdock Circle.
The caller told dispatchers she saw a man with a rifle who appeared to fire the weapon. She was not harmed but said she believed the gun was real and called 911 out of concern.
Deputies located Lazaro Alonso-Preto, 48, who is homeless, sitting under a palm tree in the parking lot with a blue blanket over his lap.
They said he did not immediately comply with commands to show his hands. Once other deputies arrived, a camouflage-colored air rifle was recovered from his lap. He reportedly told deputies he had loaded the air rifle nearby and pointed it at the ground by the tree to unload it.
Deputies also confirmed Alonso-Preto had previously been trespassed from the same Walmart and was not allowed on the property. He was arrested and charged with improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon and trespassing while armed with a firearm or dangerous weapon.
He was taken to the Charlotte County Jail without incident.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
Mother, child hospitalized after hit-and-run at Largo Walmart, police say
The mother and daughter have been identified as Cristiane Souza De Oliveira and 6-year-old Aylla Rodrigues.
More Videos
- Next up in 5REGROUPED: Columbus Blue Jackets Avoid Collapse, Sean Monahan Secures WIN in Regulation
- 10 Tampa Bay News This Morning at 5:00 am
- REPORT: Rams Keeping This KEY Coach, Rams Players Are “Broken” After CRUSHING NFC Championship Loss!
- The PERFECT SPLASH For Minnesota Vikings Free Agency
- New York Knicks Dominate Toronto Raptors as Giannis Rumors EXPLODE Yet Again
Author: Alexa Herrera
LARGO, Fla. — Largo police arrested a 32-year-old woman accused of driving away after hitting a woman and a child Thursday night in a Walmart parking lot.
The hit-and-run happened just before 9 p.m. at the Walmart on 2677 Roosevelt Boulevard, according to the police department.
Officials said Lauren Howells crashed into a mother and her 6-year-old daughter who were leaving the store along with multiple cars in the parking lot before leaving the scene.
The mother and daughter have since been identified as Cristiane Souza De Oliveira and 6-year-old Aylla Rodrigues.
Cristiane was seriously hurt while Aylla is facing life-threatening injuries. They were both transported to the hospital.
Police were searching for a silver Chevrolet Malibu with red rims and heavy front-end damage on Thursday night and announced her arrest Friday morning.
Through the investigation, detectives learned Howells left the Days Inn before the incident and returned shortly after with damage to her car that was consistent with a crash. Officials say she also left the inn in a second vehicle before Clearwater police arrived.
While looking for Howells in the second vehicle, Pinellas County deputies conducted a traffic stop on a car that was registered to Howells.
Largo police and Pinellas County deputies found Howells and arrested her at The Murphy Hotel on 34th Street.
She told law enforcement that she was driving the vehicle, hit something and then left the scene, according to a news release.
Howells was charged with leaving the scene with property damage, two counts of leaving the scene with serious bodily injury and one count of reckless driving with serious bodily injury.
According to Pinellas County court records, Howells has been arrested more than 30 times in the county since 2009.
