A wallet accidentally left at a local restaurant was the catalyst for discovery of ongoing employee thefts.
Nykeria Tiasia Clemons, 25, was arrested June 30 and charged with misdemeanor theft by taking, financial transaction card fraud and financial transaction card theft.
A report of the incidents leading to the arrest by Gray Police Officer Brent Zimmerman states that a person entered the lobby of the Gray Police Department June 30 to report the theft of a credit card.
Zimmerman said the complainant reported picking up food at the restaurant the day before and realized she had left her wallet on the counter when she got home. The complainant said she called the restaurant and was told they found her wallet. She said, when she retrieved the wallet the next morning, she realized one of her credit cards was missing. She said she checked her account and found out the card had been used two more times that evening at the same restaurant.
The officer said the complainant was advised by her bank to get a police report about the theft of the card, and the unauthorized purchases would be refunded to her account. Zimmerman said he provided the complainant with a report of the theft.
The officer said he then went to the restaurant and made contact with Clemons, who was working at the counter. He said he asked to speak to the owner. Zimmerman said the owner told him that he was already in the process of watching the video footage to see who took the credit card from the wallet that had been found on the counter.
The owner said Clemons not only took the card, but the video also showed her pulling out money from the register over the past several days. The owner made copies of the videos for law enforcement.
Zimmerman said, when watching the video, he observed Clemmons opening the register and putting one and five-dollar bills in and taking out larger bills. He said she would then put the larger bills in her wallet.
The officer said he asked Clemmons about taking the credit card and she denied it. He said she also denied taking money from the register. Zimmerman said he told her about the camera that had been above her head recording the thefts. He said GPD Officer Parker Jones arrived to take Clemmons into custody and transport her to the Jones County Law Enforcement Center.
Zimmerman said he spoke again to the restaurant owner to ask how much money had been taken from the register. He said the register had been short the past Friday by $65 and Wednesday, $135. The officer said the two additional transactions on the credit card were food purchases made by Clemmons the day of the theft that she had then placed in her vehicle.
Zimmerman said he left the restaurant and secured warrants for Clemmons’ arrest.
