Columbus man arrested on Walmart shoplifting charges after trying to use old receipt

An alert employee of the Walmart on Gateway Road foiled an attempted shoplifting Sunday when she saw a Columbus man place crab legs in a bag and became suspicious, according to testimony in Recorder’s Court on Monday.

Maurice Johnson, 47, was arrested on a probation violation after he attempted to leave the store with $338.56 in merchandise. He pretended to have a receipt as he walked out the door, Columbus police officer Jerald Westmoreland told the court.

An employee in the store’s Loss Prevention Department began to monitor Johnson as he moved through the store, loading the cart with a child’s walker, boxes of diapers and other items, the officer told the court.

As Johnson attempted to leave, he held up a receipt. The Walmart employee then asked to see the receipt and Johnson said he had forgotten something and went to the store’s garden section.

He was taken into custody by Westmoreland. The receipt Johnson was holding was not from the Gateway Road store, but the Walmart in Phenix City, Westmoreland said.

A Walmart employee told Westmoreland that Johnson had been caught on surveillance May 27 walking out of the store without paying. He has not been charged for that, Westmoreland said. Johnson “has at least four previous shoplifting convictions,” Westmoreland said.

Judge Julius Hunter ordered Johnson held on $2,500 bond on the felony shoplifting charge and $250 bond for providing a false name to police.

This story was originally published June 4, 2018 at 12:51 PM with the headline "Columbus man arrested on Walmart shoplifting charges after trying to use old receipt."