Arrest warrant issued for Walmart thefts suspect

An arrest warrant has been requested for one of two suspects charged with trying to steal iPads from the Greencastle Walmart store in the early morning hours of March 21.

Failing to show up in Putnam Superior Court Monday afternoon resulted in a warrant for failure to appear being requested for Jolisha L. McDonald, 23, one of two Columbus, Ohio, women charged in the case here and implicated in a string of electronics thefts across Indiana, Ohio and West Virginia. The warrant was expected to be issued by the end of the day Wednesday.

McDonald was due in court at Monday afternoon just as additional information was coming to light concerning the crime spree in which she and Danielle E. White, 23, have been implicated.

Jolisha McDonald

Earlier that day McDonald phoned the Superior Court office and told Judy Irwin she was in the emergency room at an Ohio hospital.

The suspect was advised that she had until her appearance time of 2 p.m. to have the hospital fax over documentation to that effect or her non-appearance Monday would be unexcused. No such documentation has been received by the court.

Because of that, Deputy Prosecutor James Hanner said the state would request a warrant for failure to appear be issued for McDonald, who is facing charges attempted theft and conspiracy to commit theft, both Class A misdemeanors, as well as criminal mischief and false informing, Class B misdemeanors.

But those charges are small potatoes compared to what the two women might face in other locales.

For example, in Moundsville, W.Va., McDonald and White are accused of stealing 60 cellphones, including 52 iPhones, with a total valued of $30,463.

According to a Moundsville Police Department incident report, the two women entered the Walmart store and immediately went to the electronics counter and began conversing with the clerk, who ended up leaving the area. When that occurs, one of the women enters the electronics cashier area and begins using a bladed tool to pry on a metal frame surrounding the glass doors beneath the counter, surveillance video shows.

"The pair then go off camera," the West Virginia report continues, "then reappear with four dark-colored backpacks with the tags still on them."

Returning their attention to the glass doors, they can be seen pulling the right pane out and taking turns watching and loading three backpacks and a plastic Walmart bag with new in-the-box cellular phones.

After unsuccessfully trying to pry open other glass doors, just before 2 a.m. the suspects left the way they entered with one watching and one pushing a shopping cart with three backpacks and the Walmart bag containing the 60 phones.

In Indiana, two women matching the descriptions of White and McDonald are believed to have stolen 29 iPads from the Greenfield Walmart last month.

Subsequent communications between Walmart stores and a TV news report about the Greenfield thefts actually aided Greencastle authorities in identifying and ultimately arresting the duo March 21.

In the local case, police were dispatched to the Greencastle Walmart at 4:21 a.m., regarding two females trying to gain entry into a showcase in the electronics department.

Upon arrival at the store, Officer Kyle Lee of the Greencastle Police Department spoke with a Walmart official who said the women matched the description of the Greenfield theft suspects, who are believed to have perpetrated at least 40 Walmart thefts. Police were told that the women were still in the electronics department trying to break into a case with some kind of tool.

However, the women were not confronted, with Walmart associates instead notifying authorities of the issue.

Still parked in the Walmart lot, Lee and Deputy Virgil Lanning watched two suspects leave the store and get into a red Toyota. Lee then made a traffic stop at the intersection of Indianapolis Road and 10th Street.

Neither woman initially gave police her real name, with McDonald claiming to be Melissa Morrow and White identifying herself as Stephanie Toles.

During the stop, GPD Capt. Chris Jones pulled up a news report containing a surveillance photo from the Greenfield Walmart. White and McDonald appeared to match the two women in the photo, with McDonald even carrying a purse matching the one in the photo.

The search also revealed a small crowbar and a magnetic device used to remove anti-theft protection from electronics.

White, who faces three Class A misdemeanors of attempted theft, conspiracy to commit theft and possession of a controlled substance, as well as Class B misdemeanor false informing charges, was also found to be in possession of oxycodone.

The Walmart official also identified McDonald as the woman who damaged the Walmart showcase while attempting to gain entry, therefore she also faces the criminal mischief charge.

While McDonald bonded out of PCJ on March 22, White remained in the Putnam County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon.