Menomonee Falls woman arrested after attempting to steal $2,000 worth of merchandise from Walmart

BURLINGTON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Two women are facing charges after attempting to steal over $2,000 worth of merchandise from a Walmart store.

Crystal Churchill, a 42-year-old Menomonee Falls woman, has now been charged with Felony Retail Theft. We are not naming her accomplice because she hasn't been charged yet.

According to the criminal complaint, police were dispatched to a Walmart in Burlington for a retail theft in progress on November 23. 

The two suspects were stopped in the vestibule of the store and were being argumentive with Loss Prevention. Upon officers arrival, they located the two women standing next to a shopping cart filled with several large boxes containing high-value electronics such as flat screen televisions, laptop computers, and clothing. All of the merchandise was in Walmart shopping bags.

Churchill told police that she had not been stealing the items in the shopping cart, and her intentions were to place them on layaway until she got paid in the coming days.

Loss Prevention advised the woman that the layaway department was located in the rear of the store and that Walmart had a policy against placing layaway items in shopping bags. Churchill said her children were in the store and she didn't want them to see what she had purchased for their Christmas gifts.

Loss Prevention saw Churchill putting the items into shopping bags before passing the last point of purchase without paying. 

The total value of the stolen merchandise equaled $2,114.91.