Staff Report

Helene Grace Marie Drake

WARSAW — A Rochester woman was arrested for allegedly stealing items from the Warsaw Walmart.

Helene Grace Marie Drake, 24, 100 Ohio St., Rochester, is charged with theft, a class A misdemeanor; and theft with a prior conviction, a level 6 felony.

On May 20, a Warsaw Walmart employee was monitoring Drake’s self-checkout transaction via video surveillance. During her transaction, Drake made no attempt to scan several of her items and placed them directly into a shopping bag.

According to court documents, Drake would stack items together in her hands but only scan one of the items. The employee approached Drake and discovered the value of the unpaid merchandise Drake had was $123.12.

A Warsaw Police officer was then dispatched to the scene. The officer confirmed through video surveillance that Drake placed items into her shopping bag without scanning them.

Drake said she used the self-checkout register and scanned a few items, but claimed she did not realize she was failing to scan other items.

Drake was previously convicted of theft in Fulton County in August 2019.

She has already been arrested and released on bond. Drake has an initial hearing at 1 p.m. July 12, in Kosciusko Superior Court Two.