Stealing and identity theft allegations can lead to serious consequences in the event of a conviction. A woman from Columbia was recently arrested after a Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled her vehicle over for allegedly having no front license plate. She is now facing charges that include stealing a significant amount of electronic products from various Walmart stores throughout Missouri, along with suspicion of identity theft. Authorities allege that when she was pulled over she failed to give the deputy her own name but instead supplied her sister’s identifying information.

They further say that she confessed later that she had supplied inaccurate information knowing that she had outstanding warrants out for her arrest in several other Missouri jurisdictions. Those warrants all appear to be for felony stealing and stem from allegations that the woman stole electronic items, including video game consoles and games, a laptop computer and other such products from more than one Walmart store. It is believed that the woman worked with a partner in at least one of the alleged thefts.

Officials indicated that the purported partner had previously worked for Walmart, so had inside information on how to neutralize security tags and cut locking wire off of items. When police arrested the woman after the recent traffic stop, they reported that she had jewelry and other items in her possession but were not yet sure if the items had been stolen. They did arrest the woman due to her outstanding theft warrants and also for suspected identity theft. At last report, the woman was still in jail pending a $182,500 bond.

While the stealing and identity theft charges that this woman faces are quite serious in nature, it is not an automatic fact that she will be convicted of the charges. Government officials rightly have a high burden of proof to overcome when they present a criminal case in court. An accused person cannot be convicted if that standard of proof is not met.

Source: The Columbia Daily Tribune, “Traffic stop finds suspect in thefts,” Dec. 14, 2012