Here's another reminder to avoid self-checkout scanners at Walmart and other stores. Meaggan Pettipiece, a former Olympic athlete, was arrested for failing to scan ham and asparagus at a Walmart self-checkout machine in Indiana on March 28, 2024. She paid $176 for the other groceries, but Walmart security called police.
When police arrived and searched her purse, they found three vape pens and two unopened packs of Zofran, a medication used to prevent nausea and vomiting in cancer patients. It's a controlled substance but does not produce euphoria or a high that recreational drug users typically seek. Nevertheless, Pettipiece was charged for stealing the unscanned items and for possession of cannabis and a controlled substance. "In the aftermath of the arrest, with a torrent of headlines sweeping across the state, Pettipiece resigned from her role as an NCAA Division 1 softball coach at Valparaiso University," reported The Independent.
It was later revealed that Pettipiece did scan the ham and asparagus, but Walmart's scanner failed to register the scans. Also, the vape pens contained no THC, and the anti-nausea pills didn't belong to her.
From The Independent:
However, it was later discovered that the machine did not register her ham and asparagus when she scanned them. Not only that, but the vapes did not contain nicotine or THC, nor did the anti-nausea pills belong to her. Instead, they belonged to an assistant coach, who reportedly asked the former All-American softball player to carry them for her during a softball game days before her arrest.
The Indiana Department of Justice dropped all the charges against Pettipiece, but the damage had been done.
"It is bittersweet," Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, said. "I'm happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. The sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life… It's been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it's been really difficult."
We are all just one police stop away from having our lives ruined (unless you are rich, of course).
Previously:
• A criminal defense lawyer explains why you should never use self-checkout
