OKEECHOBEE — A Kentucky woman was arrested this week after she was accused of stealing 16 boxes of anti-diarrheal medication from Walmart. She was charged with petit theft and released on her own recognizance.

Okeechobee City Police Officer Jessica Francis was dispatched to Walmart on Tuesday, Oct. 1, after asset protection associate Carl Guerrette called to report a woman had been seen shoplifting two days earlier, and they had video surveillance of the event, and now the woman was back in the store.

When Officer Francis arrived in the store, she asked the woman to accompany her to the asset protection office so they could view the video together, and as soon as they entered the office, the woman reportedly began crying. When Mr. Guerrette began to speak to her, she became angry and Officer Francis reportedly tried to calm her down but she began to curse at the Walmart employees so Officer Francis removed her from the store and had her transported to the Okeechobee County Jail for booking.

According to Mr. Guerrette, the video shows the woman remove the 16 boxes of anti-diarrheal medication from the shelf, place them inside her bag and take them to the restroom where they were removed from the boxes. The empty boxes were found in the restroom later, and that is what started the investigation, he explained.