An 81-year-old Villager has penned a letter of apology and made restitution, allowing her to escape prosecution in a theft case.
The prosecutor’s office announced earlier this month in Sumter County Court that Mary Catherine Moerman of the Village of St. Charles will not be prosecuted on the theft charge. She has paid $36.99 in restitution to the Aldi Supermarket at Trailwinds Village and wrote a letter to the store manager admitting she is “embarrassed and ashamed” of her “unlawful act.”
Moerman was arrested March 21 at her home at 2099 Westchester Way on a warrant charging her with theft.
The warrant was issued after Moerman was caught on surveillance in February concealing merchandise in her purse at the Aldi supermarket at Trailwinds Village, according to an arrest report from the Wildwood Police Department. It appeared Moerman was “using some kind of newspaper ad to conceal the items in her cart, wrapping them one by one, placing them inside her handbag, and removing only the newspaper,” the report said. The items taken that day including a head of cauliflower, a container of green beans and a wedge of cheese.
The store manager picked Moerman out of a photo lineup with “100 percent certainty.” The report indicated that Moerman was suspected of a similar theft in January at the same store.
