Joliet Walmart Worker Who Stole Thousands Finally Captured: Police

JOLIET, IL —A 47-year-old employee at the Joliet Walmart store on West Jefferson Street who is accused of stealing $135,988 from inside the store on Nov. 27 was booked into the Will County Jail on Monday morning, jail logs show.

On Dec. 15, a Will County grand jury indicted Vanderwall on two felonies, theft and burglary, following a Joliet police investigation. For over three months, Vanderwall was not taken into custody by authorities in Will County.

On Monday, Will County Jail logs listed an alias for her: Melissa Briscolino. Will County court records also show that she grew up in Romeoville under the name of Melissa Holland. When Joliet police obtained a warrant to arrest her in early December, authorities listed her as living in rural Mazon; however, Grundy County Sheriff Ken Briley later told Patch that Vanderwall had not lived at that property surrounded by farmland for at least 10 years.

According to Will County civil forfeiture documents for Vanderwall's 2015 Jeep Cherokee:

• On Nov. 29, Joliet police officer Matt Pesce was called to the Walmart store at 2424 West Jefferson St. to investigate a past theft. A loss prevention employee told Pesce that Vanderwall stole money from two different cash recyclers. The cash recyclers are similar to ATMs, and retail stores use them to restock their cash registers.
• The Joliet Walmart general manager informed Joliet police that the cash recyclers had deposits from Nov. 25 and Nov. 26.
• Video surveillance footage showed Vanderwall emptying both cash recyclers and placing the cash into a Walmart reusable shopping bag between 3:33 p.m. and 3:38 p.m. on Nov. 27.
• Before leaving the store on Nov. 27, Vanderwall gave her "manager" keys to a fellow Walmart supervisor, claiming she had a family emergency.
• Vanderwall then left the store with the cash, driving away in the blue Jeep Cherokee that is now the subject of the January Will County civil forfeiture filing.