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A retail store employee is jailed after a tip leads deputies to her home and a variety of goods stolen from the outlet.
By CARRIE JOHNSON
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 27, 2001
CRYSTAL RIVER -- It's amazing what you can find at yard sales sometimes.
One browser told authorities she saw brand-new pants and underwear from Beall's Outlet at one -- price tags still attached.
Now the woman who held the sale, a Beall's employee who told authorities she has been stealing from the store for the past five months, has been arrested on one count each of grand theft and dealing in stolen property.
Nora A. Adkins, 40, 8141 W Woodbury Court, was being held Friday at the Citrus County Jail in lieu of $12,000 bail.
According to an arrest report, investigators from Beall's set up surveillance after receiving the yard sale tip and saw Adkins taking merchandise from the Crystal River store to her home Wednesday night.
The Citrus County Sheriff's Office was contacted and a deputy met with Adkins and store investigators Thursday.
According to the report, Adkins said she stole a variety of items from the store Wednesday night: underwear, socks, throw rugs, a pen set and baby clothes. She told the deputy she planned to sell them at a yard sale in December.
Adkins also said she had been swiping merchandise from the store for the past five months, the report said. The deputy then accompanied Adkins to her home to retrieve some of the stolen items.
The deputy said her front hallway was lined with gray tote boxes, which were filled with Beall's merchandise with price and security tags still attached.
Adkins turned over items from her kitchen, bedroom and computer room.
The deputy said he also found a large amount of clothing still hanging from a display rack in her shed. All of it had been taken from Beall's, the report said.
The total value of the stolen goods wasn't available Friday, said Ronda Hemminger Evan, a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.