Florida woman accused of drug trafficking allegedly shoplifted from Walmart as part of 'game'

PALM COAST, Fla. (TCD) -- Deputies arrested a woman after she allegedly shoplifted merchandise from a Walmart as part of a game last week.

According to a news release from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday March 25, a witness reported a possible shoplifter at a local Walmart. A deputy responded to the store at around 6:26 p.m. and learned 30-year-old Amber McCann allegedly left the store and refused to show her receipt to prove that she had purchased items in her cart.

The reporting party described McCann’s vehicle to authorities and said they saw her place the stolen goods from the cart to a car. McCann reportedly fled the scene on foot after realizing someone saw her.

According to the sheriff’s office, an officer from Walmart’s loss prevention department provided further details about the suspect and determined the stolen items were valued at a total of over $1,030.

Deputies eventually located McCann’s vehicle in the parking lot, and officials found the stolen goods in the back seat.

While removing the items, deputies "detected a clear and distinct odor of marijuana emanating from within the vehicle." During a further search, they reportedly found various drugs, including a burned marijuana cigarette in the center console, baggies of marijuana, a digital scale, hashish, a glass pipe with burned remnants, and empty baggies in the trunk.

Deputies also discovered two plastic baggies with methamphetamine and another baggie containing two alprazolam tablets. Inside a locked safe, deputies said they found 1-ounce silver bars and rounds, copper bars, and a 1-gram platinum bar. The sheriff’s office recovered four bags of methamphetamine, which weighed 62 grams total.

Authorities noticed McCann walking toward the store and confronted her. She reportedly confessed to officials that she placed the stolen items and her purse into a random vehicle after seeing deputies arrive at the scene.

The suspect told deputies it was part of a game called 21, "where someone grabs as much merchandise from a store and walks out without paying for them while trying not to get caught."

According to the sheriff’s office, McCann later changed her statement and said the car was not random but a rental that belonged to her boyfriend. The sheriff’s office shared bodycam footage of authorities’ interaction with McCann.

Deputies arrested McCann on charges of shoplifting –– grand theft ($750-$5,000), possession of marijuana (20g or less), possession of hashish, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of alprazolam, and trafficking of methamphetamine (28g-200g). She was booked into the Flagler County Jail and remains held on $34,000 bond.

Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said, "If she really thought she was playing a shoplifting game, she lost to our deputies and observant citizens."

He continued, "She may have skipped the checkout lane at Walmart, but she went through the express check-in at the Green Roof Inn with a free set of designer bracelets –– aka handcuffs."

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