ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Wentzville police say they found hundreds of receipts, rolls of blank receipt paper, and a printer in the backseat of a vehicle belonging to a man charged in an elaborate scheme to steal thousands from retailers via fake refunds.
Lonnie McNabb, 54, of Columbia, was charged this week with three counts of forgery and one count of stealing in St. Charles County following his arrest in Wentzville on Saturday. He faces similar charges in Cole, Boone, Cooper, Callaway, and Audrain counties in mid-Missouri.
And Walmart has banned McNabb from its stores until the year 3000, according to court records.
The investigation into McNabb in St. Charles County began in October when Wentzville convenience store employees say he approached them on two separate occasions with a receipt of purchase for a phone charger and asked for a refund. The clerks refunded him $174.74 over the two transactions.
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Later, when store officials were reviewing security video, they saw McNabb enter the store and select a phone charger from the shelf. He then went to the counter with the receipt and asked for the refund. Store officials determined that the purchase details listed on the receipt he presented were fraudulent and “they had no logs, or video, of that purchase ever being made.”
Store security video also shows McNabb taking four hot dogs off the ready-to-eat rolling warmer, but only paid for one, Wentzville police wrote in court records.
McNabb has reportedly repeated the refund scheme at a Dollar General in Jefferson City using two bags dog food for $44, and has been caught at Walmart stores in Mexico and Boonville, according to records.
It was his attempt to steal electronics from a Walmart in Wentzville that ultimately led to his arrest.
According to court records, a Walmart Loss Prevention Officer called police on Nov. 2 to report that McNabb had managed to remove a security tag off a speaker system and had attempted to leave the store without paying. He was stopped by the store security officer, who had record of McNabb being barred from “all Walmart locations until the year 3000,” according to court records.
When police interviewed McNabb officers found two fictitious temporary driver’s licenses in his possession. The IDs had McNabb’s photograph, with different names and dates of birth.
When police searched his vehicle, they found the computer printer, receipt paper, and a box “containing hundreds of presumed fraudulent receipts for businesses across Missouri” including receipts from three Wentzville-area gas stations.
The investigation into whether McNabb used the other receipts is ongoing, according to police.
McNabb, who had warrants out for his arrest after failing to appear in court elsewhere in Missouri, is being held on a $10,000 cash-only bond at the St. Charles County Jail. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. McNabb is due back in court next week.
