Grocery discount relied on more than cutting coupons

A 50-year-old Bloomington woman’s attempt to heavily discount her grocery bill proved unsuccessful and resulted in her arrest on suspicion of theft.

Bloomington police officers were dispatched to Cub, 10520 France Ave., at approximately 10:45 a.m. May 20, following a report from store employees that the woman was scanning groceries in the self-checkout lanes of the store, but walked out without making a payment. An employee noticed a payment hadn’t been made and reported it to the store’s loss prevention officer, who confronted the woman as she exited the store. But the suspect refused to stop and drove away in a purple Honda Pilot, according to Bloomington Police Cmdr. Ben Calhoun.

A description of the vehicle and its license plate number were sent out in an alert, and the vehicle was located on the 10600 block of Kell Avenue shortly after noon May 20. The suspect was at the residence and was arrested on suspicion of gross misdemeanor theft. A search of her purse following the arrest turned up a stun gun in her purse, which she was prohibited from possessing due to a 1994 felony robbery conviction in Milwaukee, Calhoun noted.

The suspect is accused of taking $670 worth of merchandise, he added.

Dedicated fan

A 30-year-old man with no permanent address was in search of a new T-shirt, and perhaps wanted to show a little team spirit, while he was shoplifting at the Bloomington Walmart store.

Police officers were dispatched to Walmart at approximately 12:57 p.m. May 17 after a report from the store’s loss prevention staff that the suspect had left with a T-shirt and a Minnesota Timberwolves hat. The items were valued at $26, Calhoun said.

The loss prevention staff knew the suspect from a previous incident, and he was prohibited from returning as a result. But he returned to conceal the merchandise and left the store. An officer responding to the report found the suspect at a nearby bus stop, where he was arrested on suspicion of felony burglary due to his past convictions. He was also found to be in possession of suspected narcotics at the time of his arrest, Calhoun noted.

Follow Bloomington community editor Mike Hanks on Twitter at @suncurrent and on Facebook at suncurrentcentral.