Six charged with retail theft from Decatur stores

Dec. 20—Tuesday filings in Morgan County District Court revealed six people were charged with retail theft from Decatur stores.

Diamond Trentavia Moseley, 23, of Decatur, was arrested Friday and charged with second-degree retail theft for allegedly trying to steal $1,118.34 worth of merchandise from Belk at 1801 Beltline Road S.W.

The store's loss prevention officer told Decatur police investigators that she stopped Moseley trying to leave the store with the merchandise, according to an affidavit signed Tuesday.

"The suspect dropped all of the merchandise and pushed (the employee) before exiting the store and driving off," the affidavit reads.

Police viewed security video of Moseley that corroborated the employee's version of events, according to the affidavit.

Following the investigation, police stopped Moseley's vehicle near Modaus Road Southwest and Fairground Road and transported her to Morgan County Jail. Court records show she was released the same day on a $2,500 bond.

Retail theft is a relatively new charge that went into effect statewide Sept. 1 after the Legislature approved the Retail Theft Crime Prevention Act aimed at giving harsher penalties to retail thieves.

Before the new legislation, theft from retailers fell under the broad umbrella of first-, second-, third- or fourth-degree theft, based on the value of the items stolen.

Violations of the new criminal code still carry punishments tied to the value of the property, but also allow prosecutors to increase the severity of the charge based on the cumulative value of stolen goods in specific time windows.

Retail theft between $500 and $2,500 is a second-degree offense and a Class C felony.

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Walmart

An asset protection associate with Walmart at 2800 Spring Ave. S.W. signed depositions on Tuesday accusing five people of stealing from the store.

Mireya Hilario Castillo, 34, of Decatur, was arrested and charged with second-degree theft on Dec. 2 after the associate said Castillo repeatedly scanned a pack of Wrigley's gum in lieu of the items she placed in her shopping cart, according to one of the depositions.

Walmart employees also said they saw Castillo scanning one item while bagging two. They stopped her when she tried to leave the store, according to the deposition.

An itemized list attached to the court filing shows $38.39 in food items, such as pasta, beans and tuna, were recovered from Castillo. She was subsequently banned from the store.

Court records show Castillo was released on a $300 bond the day of her arrest.

Four others were accused of stealing from the store in November and charged with misdemeanor third-degree retail theft; depositions describing their allegedly odd behavior in the self-checkout lane were signed and filed Tuesday.

A 28-year-old Decatur woman entered the self-checkout lane with a few groceries and kitchen appliances on Nov. 17, according to one deposition. She allegedly used grocery bags to conceal unpaid items in her cart before she was stopped trying to leave the store.

The $42.42 worth of items recovered included berries and muffin and cake pans, according to the filing.

The accused woman was arrested and released that day on a $300 bond, court records show.

A 22-year-old Hartselle man wandered around the store until he found some tape, then he allegedly used the tape to place a price tag on a box containing a child's car seat, according to another deposition.

Walmart employees said the man then neglected to scan the car seat in the self-checkout lane. He was arrested by Decatur police and released that day on a $300 bond, court records show.

On Nov. 20, a 24-year-old Decatur man and his 29-year-old girlfriend were detained after Walmart employees said the man repeatedly scanned a Kool-Aid packet in lieu of the appropriate merchandise.

"He made a mistake and scanned both items, Kool-Aid pack and car accessory, he then voided the car accessory and proceeded to scan the other items with the Kool-Aid," according to an employee's summary of the event, filed Tuesday.

The man's girlfriend allegedly handed him each item. Both were released on $300 bonds shortly after their arrests.

According to the filing, employees recovered women's and men's clothing and car accessories worth $291.42.

A Walmart document titled "Notification of Restriction from Property" was addressed to each of the accused. All four charged with third-degree retail theft were also banned from Walmart property for at least a year.

"Walmart has determined you have engaged in conduct sufficient to necessitate limiting your access to Walmart property," the notification reads.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438. @DD_DavidGambino