An Eatonton woman was arrested on charges of shoplifting from Walmart, and the store’s asset protection associate was also subsequently arrested, according to police reports.
Cory Blake Hawkins, 38, of Monticello, was arrested around 5 p.m. Oct. 13 on the charge of misdemeanor theft by taking. He was released on a $1,405 property bond.
Brittani Michelle Titus, 35, of Eatonton, was arrested around 5:40 p.m. Oct. 12 for misdemeanor theft by shoplifting. She was released on a $730 property bond.
According to an incident report by Eatonton Police Department Officer Dillon Waldroup, Titus was captured on the store security video browsing in the makeup department, where she placed three boxes of tubed lip liner that cost $10 each in the child seat of her shopping cart. At the time, Titus was reportedly wearing her purse around her back. Later during her shopping trip, she moved to the grocery aisles, where she placed her purse on top of the lip liner boxes. Ten minutes later, she went through the front checkout, where she paid for all the items except the lip liners, and attempted to leave the store.
Instead of leaving, she was stopped by Hawkins, who took her to a security room and called Eatonton Police Department. When Waldroup arrived, Titus told him that she did not realize what she had done and “it was an honest mistake,” according to the incident report. After watching the store video, Waldroup arrested Titus.
The next day, a family member of Titus went to EPD and reported that Hawkins had taken Titus’ keys without her permission.
Eatonton Police Officer Jeremy McClure went to Walmart and spoke with Hawkins, who confirmed that he had, indeed, taken Titus’ keys to prevent her from driving off with the stolen goods. McClure watched the store video, which reportedly revealed Hawkins taking the keys from the seat of the shopping cart while Titus was in the pharmacy area.