Burnsville Woman Arrested for Lifting Over $1K in Merchandise from Employer

A Burnsville woman faces a felony theft charge after she allegedly went on an illicit shopping spree at her own workplace, a local retail store.

Andrea Beatrice Wright, 46, has been charged with felony theft, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and
$10,000 fine.

On Feb. 7, the Burnsville Police Department was called to a retail store on report of an employee theft. When officers arrived they spoke to loss prevention employees, who reported that Wright had been stealing store merchandise since early January 2013. Loss prevention provided surveillance showing her stealing on five different occasions between Jan. 6 to Jan. 29. Loss prevention also allegedly caught a suspicious transaction between Wright and her husband on video, which apparently shows the man returning stolen goods for a cash refund, issued by the defendant herself. 

The total value of the hot merch is estimated to be $1,081.84, including an HP laptop that costs $428.

In a statement to police, Wright admitted to taking two of the items, but she said that they were under her cart and she forgot about them. admitted to leaving the store with an HP laptop computer without paying for it, but said tha the clerk did not ring it up and she wasn't aware that she hadn't paid for it. On that date, Wright paid only $78 for her purchases.