State police have filed charges against a Clarion County man and woman who are accused of stealing almost $5,000 worth of printer ink cartridges from the White Township Walmart store last month.
Police do not publicly identify the suspects, but court documents reveal charges filed against 34-year-old Kayla Nichole Steele and 27-year-old Collin David Polka, both of whom are listed as being from New Bethlehem.
The two thefts took place on November 9th and 16th. In both cases, they used the exact same technique. They took a black-and-yellow moving container and loaded it with ink cartridges. Then, police say, Steele went to the self-checkout registers and purchased three small items while Polka waited in a different area of the store. Then they met up and walked out of the store together. In the first theft, they stole $2,125.16 worth of cartridges, and in the second, they took $2,781.71 worth.
Police were able to identify the suspects thanks to the media reports after they published surveillance images, which also showed Polka with a toddler child.
Both Steele and Polka are charged with two counts each of receiving stolen property, retail theft, and corruption of minors. Both are free after posting $25,000 bond, with preliminary hearings scheduled before District Judge Susanne Steffee on December 17th.
State police also report two other theft cases from the same Walmart in White Township. Three 21-year-old women, two from Philadelphia and one from Williamsport, are accused of stealing food by scanning only some Kool-Aid packets instead of the other items in their shopping cart last Saturday night. And in the other case, police report only that they are investigating a November 4th incident
