On or about September 3, 2025, at approximately 7:43 PM, Officer Wakumoto of the Blaine Police Department responded to a call regarding an ongoing alleged theft at the Walmart located at [ADDRESS REDACTED] NE, City of Blaine, Anoka County, Minnesota. Officer Wakumoto was advised by a Walmart Loss Prevention employee of a "quick change" male scammer presently obtaining a large amount of cash from the cashier. Walmart's in-house database had documented prior incidents with the suspect, later identified as Zekariya Abdikadir Elmi, [DOB REDACTED], the Defendant herein.
Defendant went back to the cashier several times and obtained $425 in cash. Testimony from the cashier revealed Defendant claimed a store manager had informed him he needed cash for a return he was making, resulting in the cashier providing him the cash. When later conversing with officers, Defendant stated he obtained the cash by "sweet-talking and flirting" with the cashier. Upon exiting the store, Defendant was detained by Officer Satele until Officer Wakumoto arrived on the scene. Upon contact with Defendant, he refused to provide his name to Officer Wakumoto.
Eventually, Defendant said his name was Abdirahim Abdi Elmi, however a booking photo of Abdirahim did not match the suspect's face. IBIS showed a warrant hit for Defendant, and upon finding a booking photo the officer confirmed the correct name of Defendant and the existence of multiple warrants for false information and theft-by-swindle. A review of Defendant's record confirms several theft and false information-related convictions within ten years of 2025.
