Former Wal-Mart employee charged with grand theft

A former Wal-Mart employee accused of stealing money from the local retailer is due in court next week to face possible felony charges.

Alice C. Schneider, 55, is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from the local department store over a 14-month period.

The crime was identified by store employees who noticed that cash drawers were coming up short when the money was counted. It triggered an internal investigation by the store's asset protection staff.

According to a report from the Mountain Home Police Department, the store's surveillance video appears to show Schneider pocketing the money while she worked as a cashier. When she received large bills of $50 or $100, she allegedly put the money in the cash drawer with a portion of the bill sticking out.

After a few minutes, the surveillance videos show Schneider leaning against the cash drawer with her right hand reaching below the counter before she would put something in her pocket, the police reported indicated.

She was seen using this same method to take money from her cash drawer 21 times from Oct. 1 to Nov. 17, the report added. In each instance, the amount allegedly taken ranged from $50 to $200 per day.

On Nov. 22, she was approached by a store shift manager after was seen pocketing a $50 bill as she was watched through a surveillance camera. According to the report, Schneider told store employees that she had wrongfully taken money from the store since December 2012.

During her interview with a police investigator, Schneider allegedly pulled the $50 bill from her pocket and admitted to taking it. It's alleged that she took $5,000 from the store starting in September 2012, including $3,750 between October and November of this year.

She allegedly told the police investigator that she took the money to help her pay bills. By September 2013, Schneider had reached a point that she realized that stealing money was becoming a habit because she realized how easy it was to take the cash, the report added.

Schneider is due to return back in court the afternoon of Dec. 20 for her preliminary hearing. Testimony presented at the hearing will determine if sufficient evidence exists to bind her over to district court to face the felony charge.

She was released from custody after she posted a $2,500 bond.