Woman faces robbery, resisting, and more charges after wild shoplifting incident

12 More Shoplifting Calls Reported Over Three Days in Jonesboro (detailed below)

JONESBORO, Ark. – On a weekend with over a dozen shoplifting reports in Jonesboro, one stood out.

It happened around 9:15 PM on January 27 at the Walmart on Parker Road in Jonesboro. Police initially responded to a shoplifting call but the listed charges indicated much more took place. The MO states the subject stole items, struck an employee, and possessed drugs – all while in the presence of a child.

Nicole Lynn Mann, 28, and Nicholas C. Baldwin, 32, both of Pocahontas, were arrested in the incident. The report states that the loss protection agent had attempted to stop Mann from leaving the store with the stolen merchandise but Mann first pushed and then struck the loss protection employee in the face. She didn’t place her child in the restraint system and left the store quickly in a dark colored SUV, the report says, leaving the merchandise – and her purse – in the shopping cart. The report says $305.31 in various clothing and grocery items were recovered in front of the store.

The SUV was stopped by police a short time later. In the probable cause affidavit, police say they contacted Mann and told her to exit the vehicle but instead, she threw the vehicle in reverse and almost struck officers before she stopped again. Officers were able to open the door and remove the keys from the ignition. They told her to exit the vehicle but the affidavit says she refused – so officers “assisted her out of the vehicle.” While trying to place her in custody, police say she pulled away and punched one of them in the chest. Since she was on probation, police needed no warrant to search her vehicle. They found a makeup bag containing two bags of weed and a glass meth pipe.

Mann was in the back of the police car and on her way to the detention center when she was accused of her next criminal act. The officer transporting her heard a clanging sound in the backseat. After stopping and searching, a blue marijuana pipe was found. He continued to the jail and found a bag with 0.5 grams of meth also thrown in the floorboard. After reviewing video from the back seat of the cruiser, the officer said Mann reached under her shirt to the left side of her bra and retrieved the pipe before dropping it – then the bag of suspected meth before throwing it to the opposite side of the floorboard.

Mann faces charges including felony robbery, possession of meth/drug paraphernalia, endangering the welfare of a minor – 3rd degree, resisting arrest, and tampering with physical evidence. There was also a citation for not using a child safety restraint. Mann was booked into CCDC on a robbery charge at 11:53 PM Friday and remains there as of 2 PM Monday afternoon. Her bond requirement is listed as $25,000. Baldwin was booked on a possession of meth charge and bonded out Monday morning.

The visible portion of the report did not indicate any major injuries by the Walmart employee who was struck.

Other shoplifting call reports released Monday by JPD:

• Between 9 AM and 10 AM on January 27 at Walmart on Parker Road, suspects reportedly stole $100 in merchandise/make-up. The report did not specifically list any arrests but there appeared to be missing suspect information, as only “suspect 2” and “suspect 3” were listed. Most of the report, a misdemeanor, was masked by JPD.
• Later on between 11 AM and 12:27 PM at the same location, a suspect was reported to have shoplifted while in possession of meth. Richard Matthew Chism, 28, of Harrisburg, was arrested.
• A suspect was reported shoplifting between 1 and 2 PM at Platos Closet, 2600 Fair Park Boulevard. No arrests were visible in the report released.
• Police were back to Walmart on Parker Road for another reported case of shoplifting. Between 3 PM and 5:11 PM, three suspects were said to have engaged in theft in the store including one woman already criminally banned from the location – Aaleigha Brown, 24. She, Ora Autumn Mist Moore, 26, and Edwin Garrison, 40, all of Jonesboro, were arrested for shoplifting.
• Between 4:30 PM and 5:23 PM at Walmart on Highland Drive, a suspect was accused of attempting to steal items. John Lee Williams, 52, also faces revocation of his probation.
• Between 6:19 PM and 7:33 PM, authorities were back at Walmart on Parker. Antonio D. Smith, 37, of Memphis, was arrested for allegedly trying to steal $386.53 worth of miscellaneous items. He also faces a charge for possession of suspected hydrocodone pills.
• At 7:18 PM, still on January 27, a suspect went into Shoe Carnival on Highland Drive and a police report says stole shoes from the store. The suspect wasn’t identified.
• Between 7:20 PM and 8:11 PM at Walmart on Parker Road, another shoplifting arrest took place. Eric Brownlee, 18, was arrested for allegedly taking pajama pants and saw blades.

That ended the shoplifting reports for Friday but more came in over the rest of the weekend – just to a lesser extent.

• A woman was arrested on a shoplifting charge after Walmart loss protection said she tried to unregister her shopping cart between 2:33 PM and 3:33 PM on January 28 at Walmart on Highland Drive. Alexis Sharnell Cardenas, 19, was arrested.
• Between 11:30 AM and 11:40 AM on January 29 at Hibbett on Parker Road, a suspect reportedly stole a hat and ladies tights. The suspect was not arrested and only described as a white male between 50 and 60.
• Between 12:50 and 1:10 PM that afternoon at the CVS Pharmacy on Southwest Drive, two females with an infant reportedly stole vitamins. No arrests were reported.
• Between 2 and 3 PM at Walmart on Highland, a suspect was accused of stealing $166.29 in miscellaneous clothing items and hardware. Joseph Larry Wallace, 20, of Jonesboro, was arrested.