A former Walmart manager in northern Illinois has been arrested months after allegedly walking out of the shop with over $100,000, according to officials.
Melissa Vanderwall, a 47-year-old former night manager at a Walmart in Joliet, some 45 miles southwest of Chicago, is accused of stuffing $135,988 into a shopping bag and departing the store on November 27. According to Chicago’s WGN9, she turned herself into the Joliet Police Department on Monday for her alleged crimes.
The suspected theft was recorded on security video, and a warrant was issued for Vanderwall’s arrest. According to officials, the money came from cash recyclers, which are generally used to refill cash registers.
According to Yahoo News, Vanderwall ended her duty early after filling the shopping bag with cash. She is accused of theft and burglary and was imprisoned on a $100,000 bond on Tuesday, according to court documents.
Local police were called to the location the same day the incident occurred, according to Patch.com, and an arrest warrant was issued just two days later.
“Detectives were actively investigating this case, and it was believed she had left the area,” Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English told Patch.
It is unclear why Vanderwall opted to surrender to authorities on Monday morning.
When asked how much of the stolen money his agency was able to recover, English declined to provide details in order to preserve the “prosecutorial integrity of the case.”
