Charges: Wisconsin Mother Allegedly Steals more than 160 Items from Walmart, Cub Foods

A 39-year-old woman from Chetek, Wis., was charged with felony theft after she allegedly stole more than .

Oak Park Heights police responded to a report at about 8:20 p.m. on Sept. 28 that Melissa Lynn Mathieu was being detained for shoplifting at .

While being detained by security, Mathieu allegedly stated that she had taken numerous items from and had the stolen items in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed last week by the Washington County Attorney’s Office.

According to the complaint:

A detective with the contacted Walmart about the theft—and the officer was shown surveillance video of Mathieu entering Walmart at about 4:30 p.m. with a teenage girl and two small children and selecting a cart.

The video reportedly shows Mathieu then taking numerous items throughout the store and placing the items in her cart. About 90 minutes later, she allegedly took out a reusable shopping bag and concealed multiple items in the bag.

Surveillance then reportedly shoes Mathieu pushing the cart full of merchandise past all points of payment, out the front doors of the store and load the items into the trunk of her car, the complaint states.

While at Cub Foods, Mathieu allegedly used her children to help steal groceries. According to Stillwater police, the woman, her 15-year-old daughter, eight year old son and one year old daughter each filled canvas bags full of groceries and left the store without paying.

Police executed a search warrant on Mathieu’s vehicle when police found a total of 163 new and unopened retail items in the trunk of the car that included household, bath and beauty, children's, clothing and food items, the complaint states. The retail value of the items was $1,285.98.

If convicted, Mathieu faces a maximum of five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines for the felony theft charge.