All of the conduct described herein occurred within the County of St. Louis, State of Minnesota, unless otherwise noted. On November 3, 2025, at approximately 8:11 AM, Duluth Police officers were dispatched to a shoplifting incident at Target, located at [ADDRESS REDACTED] in Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota. Loss prevention employee Joseph Peterson reported that a female he knew from prior contact to be ALETHEA RENEE ISHAM, [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter referred to as the Defendant, was inside the store removing tags from the clearance rack.
Mr. Peterson reported that the Defendant switched the tags on the merchandise and scanned the wrong items in the self-checkout before leaving the store. The total value of stolen merchandise was $290.00, but the Defendant paid less than $20.00 for all of the items by switching the tags before scanning the items. Officer MacLennan located the Defendant near Best Buy and asked her what happened at Target. The Defendant stated that Target should have tried to stop her. Officer MacLennan placed the Defendant under arrest and searched her incident to arrest and located a tin container in her front pants pocket with a small ball of tin foil inside of it.
Officer MacLennan opened the tin foil and observed a small “rock” of a white crystal-like substance. The substance was field tested and tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine, and it weighed 0.51 grams. Officer MacLennan advised the Defendant of her rights and she agreed to speak with her. The Defendant stated that she owed someone money for drugs, so she went to Target to try and help her situation. The Defendant admitted to taking several clothing items that she was wearing. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: Pursuant to Minn.
Stat. 609.49, intentional failure to appear for duly scheduled court appearances may result in additional criminal charges, and in addition to any arrest warrant that may otherwise be issued by the Court.
