NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio — Marquona Tippens is a Cleveland mother of five children who can't believe she's still facing a petty theft shoplifting charge after a February cart check encounter at the Walmart in North Olmsted.
Tippens told News 5 she took a video of the incident, which quickly went viral on TikTok, showing how a Walmart loss prevention officer accused her of trying to steal three items from the store, let her leave, and then several weeks later had police arrest her for allegedly taking $23.65 in merchandise.
Tippens believes she's the victim of racial profiling, because she's African American, and believes it played a role in prompting the search of her cart after she left the self-checkout area.
“It’s been very difficult for me to go to any other stores," Tippens said. "I’m always feeling like the police are following me around, I’m having anxiety going grocery shopping with my kids and I have five kids.”
“He snatched up my wagon and said get over here you’re stealing diapers, I saw that you didn’t ring the diapers up," Tippens added. “I showed him my receipt and he saw the diapers on there and he still proceeded to check everything in my wagon. Later, the store apologized and he tried to give me a $30 gift card and he gave me my receipts back. After that I got a full refund, because why should a store receive money from me if you think I’m stealing from you guys.”
Walmart store security video given to News 5 by North Olmsted police shows Tippens and her boyfriend having computer difficulties in scanning their items at the self-checkout, causing a Walmart employee to twice help them through the process. Tippens and her attorney Steve Albenze said the video never shows Tippens or her boyfriend trying to conceal items while they were checking out.
Tippens said after the incident she was allowed to leave the store, but according to a North Olmsted police report Walmart's loss prevention department filed a theft report and a warrant was issued leading to Tippens arrest in early April.
“And they took me to jail, fingerprinted me, locked me up, made me take my clothes off, put on a jail uniform and I was very, very victimized," Tippens said. “It’s the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me.”
Both Tippens and Albenze believe the arrest and theft charge several weeks later took place as a form of retaliation because of the posting of the TiKTok video.
“They’ve been in possession of all the evidence that clearly clears my client," Albenze said. "Everything that they’re alleging that she stole, it was either scanned, on the receipt, or you could see the clerk holding the belt in question, which never left the store.”
“It’s very disheartening that the City of North Olmsted is still pursuing the charges against my client and Walmart for that matter," Albenze added. “There was no probable cause, one, to check her cart. Two, they cleared her, they let her leave. And then after the video goes viral, then they issued an arrest warrant. I think it’s malicious honestly."
News 5 reached out to Walmart headquarters for this story and the company responded immediately, but would not give us a written explanation on its receipt and cart-checking policy.
Walmart issued the following statement:
“Retail theft is a challenge across the country, and we have processes in place to deter shoplifting in our stores. The TikTok video is a three-minute interaction of a much larger exchange.”
News 5 also reached out multiple times to the North Olmsted law department and the city prosecutor for this story but we're still waiting for a response.
Albenze told News 5 he understands stores can ask for receipt and cart checks if the request is voluntary, or if store security has probable cause, but believes those guidelines were violated in this case.
Meanwhile, Tippens had a message for shoppers this holiday season, who may find themselves the subject of a cart search or receipt check.
"It was embarrassing because everybody kept looking at my machine like I was stealing when I wasn’t," Tippens said. “I suggest that you keep your cameras rolling at all times because this could happen to anyone, it happened to me.”
