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Arrest Made in WalMart Theft

06/12/2009

On June 11 at approximately 1:00 pm, Drew County investigators arrested Jimmy Lee Birchfield, age 40 of Monticello, for the WalMart theft reported on June 10. Birchfield was previously arrested on June 9 for residential burglary of a residence located on Highway 83 North. During that residential burglary, a laptop computer was taken along with several other items. Birchfield bonded on Tuesday, June 9th.

On Thursday, Birchfield contacted Drew County Sheriff's Department from Highway 83 North. Sheriff Gober sent the investigator to meet Birchfield and get the laptop, as this sounded very suspicious. When investigators had the laptop, files stored on the laptop were checked. There was a data folder labeled "WalMart" stored on the computer. WalMart was contacted and a representative did say that they had a video of a subject that had taken several items and had even attempted to steal a LCD television by placing it near a fence in the garden section. It was learned that as the subject was attempting to cut the fence, a WalMart employee frightened the subject, later identified as Birchfield. Birchfield then fled from WalMart. A WalMart representative reported the following morning that a laptop and several other items had been stolen from the store the previous night. The serial number was checked on the laptop and it was indeed found to be the property of WalMart.

Birchfield was arrested and a search warrant was obtained for the motel room where he was staying. Investigators retrieved from the room a camera that had also been stolen. The investigation still continues for the other missing items: a Sony Playstation 2, an XM radio, a Vivitar camera, and a Kodak Easyshare digital camera. When Sheriff Gober asked Birchfield why he had taken the laptop from WalMart, Birchfield replied that he "felt bad" for taking the computer from the residence on Highway 83 North.

Birchfield remains in the Drew County Detention Facility charged with theft of property and shoplifting. Bond has been set at $20,000. Any information regarding these stolen items should be reported to the Drew County Sheriff's Department.

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