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LIBERTY -- A New Castle woman remained in jail Tuesday evening after Walmart employees allege she stole more than $4,000 worth of items from their store without being caught.
Dinorah Rivera, 37, pleaded not guilty to drug paraphernalia offenses and appeared on a felony theft charge in front of Girard Municipal Court Judge Jeffery Adler.
According to a police report, Liberty police were called to the Goldie Road Walmart on Sunday for a group of people trying to steal from the store and met with an employee who said a woman from the group was trying to leave the store from the auto bay doors.
The officer notified another officer, who noticed another Walmart employee following the woman out, and he was able to detain the woman, who was later identified as Rivera.
The report states Walmart employees notified an officer of a man they were unable to stop, adding that the people had attempted to steal more than $1,000 worth of items.
The officer tried to identify Rivera in the store's loss prevention office, but it "became obvious that there was a language barrier" and he wasn't able to communicate efficiently with her.
However, Walmart employees were able to provide a potential name for Rivera because she was already in their system as someone who has been committing theft offenses in the past, wearing different wigs and costumes.
Employees said she has stolen more than $4,000 from the store without being caught, adding that she comes into the store with different people each time.
The report states the officer became familiar with who Rivera was, as officers said the vehicle she arrived in was a black sedan with a Six Brothers license plate cover and sticker on the back window, noting there were previous "be on the lookout" requests for the vehicle in connection with thefts from Walmart and other local businesses.
Another officer came and attempted to make headway in identifying Rivera, but she wasn't able to provide accurate information because of the language barrier, the report states.
The officer searched her purse, which was around her body when she was arrested, and found drug paraphernalia, four U.S. graded quarters that appeared to be valuable and a silver container, commonly used to store narcotic substances, with white residue on the side, the report states.
The report states the officer was able to find Rivera through LEADS, but lacked a photo to confirm it was her. However, an officer found a past inmate photo through the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office that appeared to be Rivera, and she confirmed it.
LEADS also notified the officer that Rivera has multiple warrants -- one from the Mahoning County Sheriff's Office and another from a Pennsylvania agency.
Rivera denied having any other illegal items on her that officers might have found, in response to the officer warning her en route to the Trumbull County jail that she could face a conveyance charge if she brought any such items into the facility.
The report states correction officers found a folded-up piece of paper with a small amount of white powder in her bag, which fell onto the booking desk, the report states, and the officer noted Rivera could face a conveyance charge upon further investigation, the report states.
Rivera is set to return to court Thursday, court records show.