Wal-Mart cashier arrested, charged in theft scheme

A cashier at the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Waldo Road has been arrested and charged with grand theft for allegedly putting 33-cent bar codes on items like a $100 calculator and then ringing up the items at the much lower price.

She is also accused of allowing her friends to leave the store with items that had not been paid for, police said.

Artina Latoria Williams, 20, 626 NW12th Terrace, was arrested at the store shortly before 7:45 p.m. Tuesday and charged with grand theft and scheme to defraud and obtain property.

Gainesville Police said the crimes occurred on six occasions between June 19 and July 28 and resulted in $1,732.17 worth of property illegally leaving the store.

Based on statements from Wal-Mart employees, a paper trail of the cash register transactions and recordings made in the store, investigators pieced together how the scheme worked.

In some cases, investigators said Williams would ring up items at her cash register, then void out the items and put them into bags that her friends would carry out of the store.

In other cases, investigators said Williams would re-price items for $1 or less, then have her friends bring the items through her line at the registers so she could ring them up.

For example, on July 24 at 3:40 p.m., investigators said Williams had 33-cent hosiery tags attached to the following eight items, which should have had a cumulative value of $313.98: three baskets each valued at $12.46, Leap Frog educational toy for $39.96, an iPod-like device for $59.76, paper plates worth $3.88, cups worth $3.12 and a DVD player valued at $169.88.

Store employees told investigators that the scheme unraveled and Williams was caught when a store greeter at the front door stopped people believed to be Williams' friends after a loss prevention alarm was sounded as they walked out of the store.

The greeter said the apparent friends dropped their bags and ran off.

Police said the store's in-house security team traced the items in the bags back to Williams' register and reportedly discovered that the items in the bags did not match with what was on the register tape.

Police said Williams only provided vague information on the identity of her co-defendants.

Williams was being held at the Alachua County jail on Wednesday.

Karen Voyles can be reached at kvoyles@gmail.com or 352-359-5656.