Ruston Police detained a suspected shoplifter Saturday who allegedly threatened a store employee and resisted the arresting officer.
A RPD officer was dispatched to the Walmart Super Center Saturday night regarding a shoplifter attempting to leave the store.
When an officer asked Maggie M. Harrell, 58, of Ruston, if she had any identification, she said no. Walmart asset protection staff said Harrell came into the store with one large purse but attempted to leave with several bags. Harrell told the officer the bags were hers. Video footage was examined that showed she entered the store with only one bag. The bags reportedly contained Walmart merchandise. One bag contained Harrell’s state ID card and a small metal pipe typically use to smoke controlled substances containing suspected crack cocaine.
The store staff said Harrell was barred from the store but did not want to pursue a trespassing charge. She did allegedly make threatening statements to a store manager who did to pursue that charge.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
When an officer attempted to arrest and handcuff Harrell, she braced her arms across her chest, screamed, and refused commands to place her hands behind her back. The officer was able to handcuff Harrell and transport her to the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
She was booked for theft by shoplifting, simple assault, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting an officer.
