Theft Suspect Eats Bar Codes to Conceal Crime
You really cannot make this stuff up.
KAUZ reports that Wichita Falls Police were called to the Wal-Mart on Lawrence Road on Thursday afternoon. Employees told police they watched the male suspect scan two sets of tools that should have scanned for about $20 each, but rang up only about $2 each. They suspected he'd taken bar codes from cheaper tools and scanned those.
Employees reportedly stopped the man and brought him back inside, telling him what they had witnessed. Before officers arrived, the man took the bar codes out of the bag and ate them. Employees told the officers that a woman had been with the man inside the store earlier. She was located and found to have stolen items in her possession. Officers watched security footage and ultimately arrested both the man and woman.
27-year-old Edguardo Rivera, Jr. and 30-year-old Krystal Gonzales were taken into custody. Rivera, Jr. was charged with fraud and tampering with evidence. Gonzales was charged with theft and criminal trespass. It turns out Gonzales had previous theft charges and had been banned from Wal-Mart since 2012. As of Friday morning, both remained in the Wichita County Jail.