Witness 1 advised the theft was of pull tabs sold at the restaurant. The pull tabs are owned by Elk River Youth Hockey. Mercedes Regan Klingman, [DOB REDACTED], was developed as a suspect as she was employed by McCoy’s as cleaning staff during the time of the thefts, had keys to the building, worked alone during non‐business hours, and turned in multiple winning pull tabs. The boxes are weighed at the start and end of each pull tab shift, and an audit is completed for each of the pull tab boxes at the end of the sale period.
Witness 1 noted they never had issues before on their pull tab audits. The FunFair box was opened October 20, 2025, closed October 22, 2025, and had 97 tabs missing for a total of $194. This was the first time a potential problem was uncovered by staff, and Witness 1 assumed the tabs were missing due to a staffing error. Witness 1 required the person selling the tabs to reimburse that loss. The Midnight Sevens box was opened October 25, 2025, closed November 4, 2025, and had 154 tabs missing for a total of $740. Employees became aware the tabs went missing between close on October 31 and open on November 1. Klingman played pull tabs at the restaurant on November 1, and cashed in three winning pull tabs for a total of $1215 from the Midnight Sevens box of pull tabs.
Klingman purchased a small amount of tabs before cashing in each of the large winnings. The Bandits box was opened October 31, 2025, closed November 5, 2025, and had 208 tabs missing for a total of $416. An employee became aware of the missing tickets after observing a weight discrepancy on November 5. The tabs went missing between close on November 4 and open on November 5. Klingman worked a shift during that time period. Staff discovered that 297 tabs went missing from the Wild Bars and Bells box in the hours the business was closed between November 7 and November 8, for a loss of $1485. The total loss is $4,050. Detective Martin reviewed surveillance footage.
On November 1, 2025, at approximately 7:05 AM, Klingman is observed on video manipulating the pull tab boxes on the counter. Klingman then takes a small trash bag immediately outside. Detective Martin observed Klingman re‐enter through the same door a short time later. This was the same date Klingman cashed in $1215 in winning pull tabs. Video from November 8 at approximately 8:10 AM shows Klingman went to the back of the pull tab area. For security purposes after the first theft was discovered, staff moved the tab boxes each night to the floor with the locks/loading doors against the wall.
On the video, Klingman set up large cardboard boxes and trash bins on top of the bar, building a wall between herself and the security camera. Klingman is concealed behind the bar for approximately 1.5 minutes. When she re‐entered the frame, she had a small trash bag in her possession, which she placed on top of her cart containing cleaning supplies. Klingman did not have keys to the pull tab boxes. Detective Martin attempted to manipulate the pull tab boxes in a similar manner that he observed Klingman do on security footage November 1. He was able to pry the loading door from the top of the box to create enough of a gap to allow tabs to go through, without evidently damaging the box or locking mechanism.
