A Gillette woman accused of pocketing more than $8,000 worth of fraudulent returns from a local liquor store denies stealing from her former employer, saying it was another worker.
In the meantime, Miakoda Morris, born in 2002, could get up to 10 years in prison if convicted of felony theft, according to charging documents filed in Campbell County Circuit Court on Tuesday.
When questioned by a Gillette Police Department investigator, Morris “adamantly denied any involvement in the thefts throughout the entirety of the interview,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in her case.
The woman told police that a supervisor told her that he believed the thefts were done by another employee, not her.
She stated that “she had no reason to steal from the business and (the supervisor) has given her several personal loans throughout the term of her employment,” the affidavit says.
How long she was employed at Good Times Liquor and Lounge isn’t clear, but the affidavit outlines thousands of dollars allegedly stolen in April, May and June.
That includes more than $800 in one day on May 26.
The alleged scheme is simple: Morris would allegedly print out receipts from purchases made with debit or credit cards, then put them into the system as returns, the affidavit says.
She would then pocket the cash for the return, but there would be no actual products coming back to the liquor store to match, the affidavit says.
While She Was Working
While investigating the thefts himself, the supervisor noticed that all the returns seemed to coincide with when Morris was working, the affidavit says.
He then checked security videos and found six clips that allegedly show Morris printing out return receipts and taking money from the cash register.
“The only time the fraudulent refunds occurred was while Miakoda was working,” the affidavit says.
Not so, said Morris. It was the other employee.
“Miakoda gave a brief description of the other employee and stated they worked on a schedule similar to each other,” the affidavit says.
When informed that the thefts only happened during her shifts, Morris “was unable to provide any explanation and continued to state the thefts were committed by this other employee,” the affidavit continues.
While she claims another employee is the alleged thief, it was a coworker who led her supervisor to start looking into the missing money and returns.
The supervisor gave police a written statement from another employee who claims to have witnessed Morris print out a refund receipt, the affidavit says.
On Video
The store also gave police six video clips that reportedly show Morris “going to the drive-thru register to take money out of the register as if she were doing a return for a customer, with no customer or product,” the affidavit says.
“The video also shows her printing receipts from customers and pocketing them,” it continues. “Later video shows her moving to a different register and taking money for a ‘return.’”
Overall, she’s accused of taking $2,332.96 in April, $3,990.19 in May and $1,876 in June, for a total of $8,199.15.
If convicted of the single count of felony theft, Morris could get a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison, a fine up to $10,000, or both.
Her next court date is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
