Walmart scammers caught in Navarre

Two women from Georgia were caught by the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office Monday after attempting to return stolen merchandise at the Navarre Walmart.

Tonya R. Crawford was charged with giving false information to obtain a refund, possession of a prescription medication without a prescription and for fraud/swindle to obtain property. The second suspect, Kimberly R. Adams, wasn’t arrested at the time of the incident because she was eight months pregnant. Future charges are pending against her.

Walmart loss prevention staff called the sheriff’s office Monday in reference to two female subjects fraudulently returning merchandise without receipts. According to Scott Haines, SRSO public information officer, loss prevention said that the suspects came to the store and showed the clerks their identification cards, which had altered numbers to disguise their true identity.

Deputies were directed to the Murphy's gas station where the two suspects relocated after being detected by loss prevention. Crawford was exiting the Murphy's store and walked to her vehicle when a responding deputy made contact with her. The deputy asked Crawford to step away from the driver’s door and she failed to comply.

The deputy saw Crawford hand something to the passenger of the vehicle and she was again told to step away from the vehicle. It was later found that Crawford had handed the passenger her identification card so that the passenger could wipe off the altered numbers.

For more of this story, see the Dec. 1 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.