Two women were arrested by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office after they attempted to leave a Walmart in Ocala with nearly $2,300 in unpaid merchandise.
On August 1, an MCSO deputy responded to the Walmart located at 34 Bahia Avenue in Ocala in reference to a retail theft incident. Upon arrival, the deputy made contact with an employee who advised that two women had attempted to leave the store with two shopping carts filled with numerous unpaid items, according to the arrest report.
The deputy noted that the store’s video surveillance footage showed the two female theft suspects pushing shopping carts past the registers without attempting to pay for the items. The women then proceeded to head for the exit when an employee confronted them.
The two women left the shopping carts and quickly exited the store. The MCSO report stated that the first female suspect’s shopping cart had 72 items that were valued at $898.52, and the second female suspect’s shopping cart had 120 items valued at $1,391.01, according to the MCSO report.
An investigation was conducted, and the first female suspect was eventually identified as 28-year-old Elizabeth Ann Anklam. A warrant was obtained for Anklam’s arrest, and two deputies responded to a residence located in the 10300 block of SE 131st Lane in Marion County on Sunday, August 20 to make contact with her.
The MCSO report stated that the deputies knocked on the front door of the home and made contact with a woman identified as 23-year-old Estrella Oquendo. A tattoo of a lion’s head was visible on her left hand, which matched a tattoo that was seen on the second female suspect’s hand in photographs that were taken from Walmart’s video surveillance footage.
Oquendo was detained by the deputies. After being read her Miranda rights, Oquendo refused to discuss the theft incident.
The deputies also made contact with Anklam at the residence. During a post-Miranda interview, she admitted that she had been at the Walmart with Oquendo at the time of the incident. She also advised that they had both left the store without purchasing the items that were in their carts, according to the MCSO report.
Anklam and Oquendo were arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where they are currently being held on $2,000 bond. They are both being charged with retail theft of $750 or more, which is a felony.
Both suspects are scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 19, according to jail records.