Alleged Condom Shoplifter Bites Off Finger Of Walmart Worker, Police Say
A woman allegedly bit off part of the finger of a Walmart security guard in an attempt to shoplift condoms and other items from the discount store, according to cops.
The suspect got into a brawl with two female loss prevention officers [corporate-speak for security] in the lawn and garden area after she allegedly exited the retailer with the unpaid merchandise.
In the confrontation, the woman, age 23, punched one of the employees in the head, causing blood to flow from her ear, and bit off the fingertip of the other Walmart staffer at the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, store, on Sunday afternoon, according to the police report.
The suspect also reportedly fought with a shopper who was trying to call the cops on her mobile device. “When a customer who witnessed the altercation tried to call 911, [the suspect] grabbed the woman’s phone and then pulled her hair before getting punched in the face,” the Daily Mail explained.
Responding police detained the suspect in a gold minivan in the Walmart parking lot. The driver of the minivan was a 71-year-old man who apparently was unaware of the melee and said that the suspect yelled at him to “drive” when she ran out of the store and got into the van.
A customer evidently stood in front of the vehicle and prevented it from leaving the scene, however.
Police: Shoplifter Bit Off Finger Of Walmart Worker Who Confronted Her For Stealing https://t.co/l9vQBMZxf9
— consumerist (@consumerist) January 11, 2016
When threatened with a Taser by cops at the scene, the suspect ceased resisting.
Although the officers found the fingertip on the ground, medics were unable to reattach it, unfortunately.
Cops recovered from the scene condoms, lubricant, clothing, panties, a camisole, and other unspecified clothing with a combined value of about $40.
The suspect, identified by multiple media outlets as Carolynn Wright, is “charged with aggravated assault, a felony, simple assault, and larceny,” and “is being held without bond in advance of a court hearing next week,” the Smoking Gun reported.
The Walmart altercation is apparently not the alleged shoplifter’s first encounter with law enforcement. The same suspect, who then worked as a stripper, apparently got into an altercation in November 2014 when she allegedly attacked another dancer with a plastic stiletto heel shoe. She reportedly pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery last March, served six days in jail, and paid a $174 fine.
Family-owned Walmart, the world’s largest company by revenue and number of employees, operates about 4,500 stores in the U.S. and approximately 6,500 overseas.
“Shopping at the Walmart can be an adventure in many parts of the country. From the fashion challenged to the downright crazy, there are many strange but true stories that seem to always be in the news,” Rollingout quipped about the alleged ex-stripper shoplifter.
In completely unrelated Walmart news, Walmart will begin using Visa Checkout, a PayPal competitor, sometime in 2016, TechCrunch reported. “Today, Visa Checkout announced that some major new companies would [be] starting to utilize the service. Starbucks, Walgreens, NFL Shop, HSN and Match.com have all signed on and will be joining Checkout’s more than 250,000 merchants using the express online payments service. Walmart.com integration will also be coming later this year, according to the company.”
The company yesterday also recalled about 300,000 Rival brand electric griddles manufactured in China owing to shock hazard concerns. Although no injuries have been reported as yet, “Consumers should immediately unplug and stop using the recalled griddles and return them to any Walmart store for a full refund,” the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced.
(Photo by Danny Johnston/AP)
