(Spirit Lake)– Three people from northern Minnesota face a myriad of charges stemming from an incident Tuesday night at the Spirit Lake Wal-Mart store.
Spirit Lake police say Wal-Mart employees reported the occupants of a vehicle had allegedly tried to steal merchandise from the store.
Police pulled over a 1995 Buick matching a description given by employees in the area of Zenith Avenue and Highways nine and 71.
A subsequent search of the vehicle turned up a large amount of stolen merchandise, ranging from clothes to computers and televisions. Police say most of the items were brand new, and that some of them may have been taken from retailers other than Wal-Mart.
Police also located what’s alleged to be marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the vehicle.
Those arrested are all from Mahnomen, Minnesota…about 330 miles north of here.
They include 53-year-old Gwendolyn Oppegard who was charged with failure to have a valid driver’s license and no insurance…both simple misdemeanors; theft in the first degree…a class “C” felony; conspiracy…a class “D” felony; ongoing criminal conduct…a class “B” felony; and detection device tampering…a serious misdemeanor.
19-year-old Emelita Sargent was charged with theft in the first degree…a class “C” felony; conspiracy…a class “D” felony; ongoing criminal conduct…a class “B” felony and detection device tampering…a serious misdemeanor.
And 18-year-old Clifford Sargent was charged with theft in the first degree…a class “C” felony; conspiracy…a class “D” felony; ongoing criminal conduct…a class “B” felony and detection device tampering…a serious misdemeanor.
Spirit Lake police were assisted by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office and the Okoboji Police Department.
Police say the case remains under investigation.
