Woman Arrested for Tag Switching at Port Charlotte Target
A woman was arrested for petit theft at a Target store in Port Charlotte, Florida, after loss prevention staff observed her switch a barcode on a package of antacids and place it on a container of protein powder, according to Charlotte County Sheriff's Office bodycam footage.
The suspect had reportedly been flagged in Target's internal system before she even entered the store. Loss prevention personnel told deputies that her license plate triggers an alert when it enters the parking lot, and that the store had documented 27 prior incidents involving the woman across multiple Sarasota-area locations.
Deputies were positioned inside the store's loss prevention office ahead of her arrival, with an additional deputy stationed outside before she reached the register.
When confronted about the tag switch, the woman initially denied any wrongdoing and suggested the person responsible might have resembled her. Within minutes, she admitted to switching the barcodes and offered to pay full price for the items. Deputies informed her that the offer came too late to prevent an arrest.
Loss prevention staff calculated the total value of previously documented incidents at $1,161.66, in addition to $114 in merchandise from the day of her arrest. Despite the extensive history, the Port Charlotte Target elected to pursue charges only for the single theft incident that occurred that day.
The woman was arrested by Charlotte County Sheriff's Office deputies and charged with petit theft in connection with the incident at the Port Charlotte Target location.
