Elkhart Woman Faces Charges Following Thefts From Meijer
Posted
Michael Anderson-manderson@timesuniononline.com
An Elkhart woman was arrested after police allege she led a theft ring that stole almost $5,000 worth of merchandise from Meijer on multiple occasions.
Tara Podemski, 22, faces one charge of corrupt business influence and five counts of theft.
Police say that on July 9, Podemski and two men went to Meijer and filled up their shopping carts with camping gear. The loss prevention manager told police Podemski was the leader. One of the men would distract the employee as Podemski pushed the carts of items to her car without paying for them.
The loss prevention manager told police the three ran the same scheme earlier the same day, according to court records.
A Meijer employee told police three more thefts had happened on June 24 involving Podemski and her two accomplices.
The employee described the same method on each of the three other thefts.
Police say Podemski admitted to stealing the items but she refused to provide the name of her accomplices.
Some employess identified one of the men in the scheme, but he is yet to be charged, according to charging documents.
