Nov. 20 — Retail theft charges were filed in Morgan County District Court last week against nine people accused of stealing from the Walmart Supercenter in Decatur.

A man and woman from Seattle, Wash., were caught Thursday stealing women’s clothing by employees protecting property at 2800 Spring Avenue SW, according to a complaint filed in court Friday.

“The female suspect rolled the items into sausages and placed them around an empty purse,” the complaint states. “The female suspect then proceeded to conceal the clothing in her purse… The suspects only scanned food items and used the bags of scanned items to cover non-food items.”

The Retail Crime Prevention Act, passed last year, introduced new charges for theft from retailers: retail theft and organized retail theft. Before the new legislation, retail theft was not differentiated from theft.

Violations of the new criminal code still carry penalties related to the value of the stolen property, but also allow prosecutors to increase the severity of the charge based on the cumulative value of the stolen property over certain time periods.

Violators can also be charged with organized retail theft, a Class B felony, for coordinated crimes such as using technology to circumvent security measures or conspiring with another person.

All defendants were charged last week with third-degree retail theft, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison.

The pair from Seattle allegedly stole, among other items, women’s athletic gear, a John Deere hoodie and beanie set and a watch strap, worth a total of $201.30. They were apprehended by an employee and a Decatur police officer after exiting the store, according to the complaint, and the property was recovered.

As retailers prepare for the holiday season, Nancy Dennis, director of public relations for the Alabama Retail Association, previously told The Decatur Daily that conditions for retail theft will be met as shoppers flood stores.

“The hope is that with this law and with increased enforcement, more and more people — thieves — will get the message that their chances of getting away with things are less this year than they have been in the past.” she said.

On Nov. 5, a Decatur woman walked into Walmart armed with a sheet of wax paper covered in barcode stickers, according to a complaint filed Friday.

“I continued to follow the suspect as he traveled through the store and continued to place these stickers on items,” an asset protection employee wrote. “The suspect then proceeded to GM houses and we verified that he was using these added stickers to scan almost all of his items.”

The stolen items included $68.37 worth of protein shakes, shampoo and moisturizers, among other items, according to the complaint. The accused was apprehended by property security officers and turned over to Decatur police.

A Mobile couple neglected to scan some food items at an automated checkout kiosk on Oct. 26, according to a complaint filed Friday. The kiosk flagged the discrepancy, apparently due to the weight sensors, and an employee came to assist the couple. Once all the items were scanned, their card was declined several times before leaving the store. Decatur police later detained the couple during a traffic stop.

About 15 percent of self-checkout users in the U.S. have intentionally stolen an item, according to a survey of 2,000 people by loan marketplace LendingTree. A study reported by CBS News found that businesses with self-checkout lanes averaged a churn rate of about 4 percent, more than double the industry average.

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