Woman Arrested In Ala. Suspected Of Stealing $70K From Walmart

A woman arrested during a traffic stop in Gadsden, Alabama, on Tuesday is suspected to be part of a multi-state theft spree with 46 prior theft cases from Walmart stores across the Southeast, reports state.

According to the Rome Police Department and Etowah County (Alabama) Sheriff’s Office reports:

Larisa Vasile-Sima, 21, faces theft and criminal mischief charges, among others, in Alabama. During her arrest, Sima told Etowah County jail deputies that she was Armenian and had no Social Security number, address or driver’s license.

Since her arrest she has been identified as a suspect in East Rome Walmart surveillance video as one of two women who pried open a spinning jewelry display case and stole assorted pieces of jewelry around 5 p.m. on Sunday, July 7. A report stated that Sima and the other woman left the store a few minutes later and got into a gray minivan that was waiting for them.

She is also suspected of stealing $1,138 worth of jewelry from what was described as an unlocked display at the same Walmart earlier in the day, at 10:54 a.m.

A Walmart representative told police that Sima had been arrested in Alabama along with several others on unrelated charges.

He also told Rome police that she has 46 prior cases across the Southeast and has stolen approximately $70,000 worth of merchandise from the company.

She is currently being held without bond in Etowah County, Alabama.