Police respond to two separate shoplifting incidents at Home Depot
Myrtle Beach police responded to two separate shoplifting incidents at Home Depot Tuesday, which led to three arrests, according to police reports.
Christopher Stromberg, 28, was charged with shoplifting and taken to the Myrtle Beach Jail.
Officers were first called about a shoplifting incident about 10:15 a.m. at the Home Depot at 951 Oak Forest Lane, authorities said.
A loss prevention employee told police that he saw Stromberg enter the store empty-handed then get a shopping cart. The employee said Stromberg then placed six paint cans in the cart and left without paying for them, police said.
The employee approached Stromberg after he left the store and escorted him to the loss prevention office, according to the report.
Officers were called to the store again about 12:15 p.m. Tuesday when police received a call about a shoplifting that had just happened, authorities said.
Jesse Allen Smith, 23, and Donna Lee Rolfe, 46, were both arrested and charged with shoplifting at a pawn shop after the shoplifting incident, police said.
Rolfe was also charged with obtaining goods under false pretenses.
A loss prevention employee at Home Depot told police he saw Smith in select drills in the tool section of the store, and then he pushed a cart with the drills outside through a store emergency fire exit, according to the report.
Police said Smith then grabbed the tools and got in a maroon Subaru and left the area.
The Subaru was seen at a pawn shop at 1118 Third Ave. S., and police said they saw Rolfe leaving the shop when they arrived.
Officers followed Rolfe to her car and detained her and Smith. The store employee came to the pawn shop and identified Smith the Subaru as the person and car he saw at the store in connection with the shoplifting, police said.
The tools taken from Home Depot were inside the pawn shop and were recovered by police.
Contact ELIZABETH TOWNSEND at 626-0217 or on Twitter @TSN_etownsend.
This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 9:08 AM with the headline "Police respond to two separate shoplifting incidents at Home Depot."