On April 16, 2024 at approximately 11:15 A.M., Austin Police Department Officer Ryan Leif was dispatched to Shoe Sensation, located at 1001 – 18th Avenue NW in the City of Austin, Mower County. Officer Leif arrived at Shoe Sensation and spoke with Witness 1 (B. K., an adult female), the Shoe Sensation District Manager. Witness 1 stated she was doing an audit of return transactions due to a high number of merchandise returns. Witness 1 told Officer Leif that she believed a store employee, LORI ALLISON MOORE, [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter the defendant, was making false merchandise returns and taking the cash or putting the money on her card.
Specifically, she believed the defendant would print a duplicate copy of a customer’s receipt and then create a return transaction. Witness 1 said she could tell which returns were fake because the merchandise was never returned and is missing from stock. Witness 1 stated she found records of fake returns totaling $3,787.00 from February 2024 to March 2024 and still had to complete the audit for returns from November of 2023 through January of 2024. Witness 1 noted that she only found $400.00 of fake returns from July of 2023 to November of 2023. Witness 1 said that the defendant has been employed at Shoe Sensation since July of 2023. Witness 1 also showed Officer Leif two surveillance video clips from April 15, 2024. The first clip started at 4:24 P.M. And shows the defendant printing out a duplicate sales receipt in the amount of $79.99. The second clip starts at 8:04 P.M., and the defendant is observed making a return transaction, rung up as a card return, and taking $79.00 in cash.
The closing store total on April 15, 2024 showed the store was short $79.00 cash. Additional surveillance video was not available as it is only saved for two weeks. Witness 1 then showed Officer Leif return receipts that have the defendant’s name on them and signed with her name. Some of these returns went to her financial transaction card. Witness 1 also showed Officer Leif other return receipts that have the names of other people on them but the signatures looked similar to the defendant’s signature.
Officer Leif took photos and collected the receipts. Officer Leif made contact with the defendant at a residence in Austin, read the Miranda warning to the defendant, and she agreed to answer questions. The defendant admitted to stealing $79.00 in cash on April 15, 2024 using a duplicate receipt. The defendant said that was the first time she had taken money, that she did not take any of the other missing money, and she did not upload anything onto her bank card. The defendant told Officer Leif that she banks with Chime Bank online and stated her bank card number had been stolen four times since she started work at Shoe Sensation.
Officer Leif provided over 130 loose receipts from Shoe Sensation to Austin Police Department Detective Derek Ellis. Detective Ellis reviewed the receipts and spoke with Witness 1. Witness 1 said the defendant was employed with Shoe Sensation between July 1, 2023 and April 17, 2024, and her employee identification number was 126363. Detective Ellis noted that an employee number, labeled as “Cash#”, appeared on each of the receipts and showed which employee facilitated the transaction. Detective Ellis also obtained from Witness 1 a list of the returns, the dates the defendant worked, and the dates when the cash register was short cash.
