Owatonna Man Accused of Shoplifting in a Very Gutsy Way

This Owatonna man, 39-year-old Shane Paul Johnson, was seen by officers pushing a very full shopping cart down a road in Mankato. The officers stopped behind him, as things were falling out of the overfull cart, and Johnson said he had just purchased the items and was heading to the mall for food. When asked for a receipt, he could not produce one. The officers called to the store that the tags identified, and that store confirmed that they had just reported a man walking out of the store with a cart full of merchandise without paying.

Surveillance footage from the store confirmed it was Johnson, although the store has not been identified in the court documentation. The merchandise was valued at $1,537 and Johnson has been charged with felony theft in Blue Earth County Court for the November 9 incident.

What a gutsy move, just fill the cart and walk out without paying. There are times I have looked at my cart and felt regret for how many things I have in it that were NOT on my list, but, I have never thought about just walking out without paying. I am always paranoid around this time of year when I am out shopping. It's cold outside, and if I'm going to be in a store for longer than 10 minutes I take my coat off and put it in the cart, and I triple check to make sure I don't forget to pay for something that was hidden under coat and purse in the cart. It was worse when I was toting around my children when they were babies and their diaper bags and car seats filled the cart already.  For the whole story, you can click here.