On Friday, Feb. 11, at 2:43 p.m. officers went to T.J. Maxx, located at 1251 Fourth Street, in response to a call regarding an employee who was in custody for an allegation of theft. When the officers arrived the loss prevention agent informed them that this employee, a 32-year-old Los Angeles woman, had been voiding transactions but allowing people to take the merchandise anyway.
The loss prevention agent told the officers that research had suggested that during the previous 90 days the employee had voided out items with a total value of $1,678.77, and allowed the people to take the goods without actually paying for them. The officers charged the woman with embezzlement, and during the routine search of her person they discovered cyclobenzaprine and hydrocodone (a muscle relaxant, and a semi-synthetic opiate pain killer, respectively) concealed in her purse. These are both controlled substances for which a prescription is required, and needless to say, the woman did not possess a prescription.
The woman was thus charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, in addition to her embezzlement charge. Her bail was set at $20,000.
Editor’s Note: This report is part of regular police coverage series entitled “Alert Police Blotter” (APB), which injects some minor editorial into certain police activities in Santa Monica. Not all of the Mirror’s coverage of incidents involving police are portrayed in this manner. More serious crimes and police-related activities are regularly reported without editorial in the pages the Santa Monica Mirror and its website, smmirror.com.
