WPD Facebook Fans ID Shoplifting Suspect

WARWICK, RI — Warwick Police detective work and the WPD Facebook community solved the mystery of a May 4 Walmart shoplifting suspect’s identity, resulting in the woman turning herself in on May 16.

Catarina Cable, 29, of 151 Regent Ave., Apt. 3,  Providence, turned herself in at Warwick Police Headquarters, 99 Veterans Memorial Drive, Warwick, RI, at 9:32 a.m., admitting that she was the person recorded on surveillance footage at the 840 Post Road Walmart May 4 at 7:52 a.m. stealing $131 in assorted clothing from the store.

On the day in question, Warwick Police officer Evan Johnson was among officers called to the Walmart for a report of a shoplifting suspect who had shoplifted several items of clothing from the store after having ticket – switched the merchandise, using a lower-priced item’s tag in place of the tags for more expensive items as they were scanned at the register, allowing her to steal the merchandise.

The store’s asset protection staff member intercepted the woman and confronted her about the theft, and she left the clothing behind, according to the report. The woman left in a gray Honda Odyssey.

Johnson reviewed the store’s footage of the incident, confirming the shoplifting suspect ‘s ticket-switching of the merchandise, as well as the rest of the asset protection staffer’s account. The license plate on the Honda did not match the vehicle, however, nor did the woman in the video appear a match for anyone in DMV records associated with the vehicle’s plates. Johnson forwarded the case to detectives.

Detective Keri-Ann DiGregorio reviewed the case and report, and was able to obtain a clearer image of the suspect from the Walmart video. She arranged to post the photo and a request to the public seeking help identifying the suspected shoplifter. The request was answered by an anonymous caller who identified the woman as Cable.

A few hours after that, Cable called to let Warwick Police know she would turn herself in as the shoplifting suspect. Cable was processed and released with a summons to answer the shoplifting charge in Third District Court on June 8, where she was arraigned and scheduled for a pretrial conference on July 10. She was released on $1,000 personal recognizance and issued a no-trespass order for the store.