It wasn’t just one shoplifting call — deputies walked into back-to-back theft cases, both ending the same way: arrests.
According to reports from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to two separate shoplifting incidents involving multiple suspects at the South Point Walmart.
In the first case, store security told deputies they watched two women moving through the aisles selecting merchandise and attempting to bypass payment. Surveillance showed one woman opening a product and transferring contents into another container, while both concealed items during self-checkout.
Loss prevention stopped the pair as they exited the store. After additional stolen items were found, Kimberly West and Lora Linville were arrested and transported to the Lawrence County Jail on theft charges.
While that situation was being handled, a second incident unfolded involving another pair of suspects.
Store security reported two females were seen removing barcode stickers from inexpensive items and placing them on higher-priced merchandise — a method often referred to as “ticket switching.” The pair attempted to check out using the altered barcodes before leaving the store without properly paying.
One of the suspects, Canaan Petry, 18, told deputies they had seen the trick on TikTok and decided to try it.
Petry was taken to jail on a theft charge, while the second suspect, a juvenile, was transported to the Lawrence County Juvenile Justice Center. A parent was notified.
The total value of stolen merchandise in the second case was reported at $204.91.
Both cases were closed by arrest.
For deputies, it was a reminder that viral trends don’t always end in likes — sometimes, they end in charges.