Walmart Grocery Thief Takes Swing At Joliet Officer: Complaint

JOLIET, IL — A 25-year-old Wilmington woman is no longer in the custody of the Will County Jail following Monday's early morning arrest at the Joliet Walmart on Route 59. The Will County State's Attorney's Office has charged Whitney Martin with one count of retail theft and one count of aggravated assault.

According to prosecutors, Martin is a previously convicted residential burglar who committed that crime in 2012 in Cook County. On Monday, Martin visited the Route 59 Walmart and that's where took possession of several groceries while having no intention of paying for the merchandise, the court documents note.

Joliet Police were alerted to the retail theft and when Officer Jennifer Gruber showed up to make the arrest, Martin "knowingly swung her clenched fist at Jennifer Gruber thereby placing Jennifer Gruber in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery, knowing (that Gruber) was a peace officer performing her official duties," the complaint states.

Martin was let out of the Will County Jail late Tuesday afternoon after posting 10 percent of her $15,000 bail, logs show. The criminal defendant lives on South Buchanan Street in Wilmington.