Police: Video surveillance catches woman stealing from Walmart

CLARION, Pennsylvania (EYT) – A Mayport woman has been charged with shoplifting after police said she was caught on surveillance video repeatedly stealing merchandise from the Clarion Walmart with a total value of more than $500.

According to court documents, Clarion State Police filed the following criminal charges against the 60-year-old Valettia R. McAninchof Mayport, in the office of Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Miller on July 25:

• Shoplifting – theft of goods, a first degree misdemeanor

According to the indictment, on five days between March 4 and April 27, 2024 McAninch took various items from Walmart without paying.

The total value of these goods was $531.09, the complaint states.

The complaint states that during this time, McAninch used various methods to avoid scanning items at the self-checkout counters.

McAninch let items pass the self-checkout line to make it appear as though they were being scanned. She picked up several items at once and scanned only one before putting them all in a bag. According to the complaint, she left some items in her cart without scanning them and then left the store without paying.

This is evident from Walmart’s video surveillance, which shows that McAninch took these items without paying in each of the five incidents, the complaint continues.

On June 3, around 8:30 p.m., Officer Mitchell Rapp interviewed Valettia McAninch at her residence. He explained to McAninch that he was investigating a series of shoplifting incidents in which McAninch stole merchandise from Walmart without paying, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, McAninch initially said she had “not been to Walmart in a long time and had never stolen from there.” Officer Rapp showed McAninch the screenshots from Walmart and explained to her that there was video surveillance. Given the evidence, McAninch told the officer that she was simply having financial difficulties and could not afford all of the groceries.

According to court records, a preliminary arraignment is scheduled for August 28 at 9:45 a.m. before Judge Miller.