STARKE, Fla. -- A woman was ordered by a judge to hold a sign telling the world she stole from a local merchant as part of her punishment.
Deputies say 21-year-old Tia Grissett and 23-year-old Isaac Simmons attempted to steal two air purifiers from a Wal-Mart Supercenter located at 14500 S. U.S. HWY 301 in April.
A Loss Prevention officer noticed Grissett and Simmons loading two boxes of new air purifiers into their vehicle. The officer asked them if they had a receipt for the items. They told the officer they did not have a receipt because they were attempting to return the items, according a report from the Starke Police Department.
Grissett and Simmons agreed to return to the store to verify their story using video surveillance at the officer's request.
After reviewing the video, the officer noticed that the suspects entered the store with two different boxes than the items they were loading in their car.
According to SPD, Simmons and Grissett tried to exchange the items they brought into the store with two air purifiers but were declined because they didn't have receipts.
The suspects then left the store with all four items.
Simmons and Grissett were arrested and charged with larceny. The total value of the merchandise was more than $300.
Grissett plead guilty and was sentenced to 18-months probation. In addition, the county judge imposed new sanctions on her for attempting to take items that didn't belong to her.
The Bradford County sheriff posted a picture of Grissett on Facebook, showing her standing in the intersection of U.S. 301 and Route 16 with a sign stating I stole from a local merchant.
