Wal-Mart theft probe yields drug charges against woman

Cape Girardeau police detained a Glenallen, Missouri, woman for stealing $24 worth of merchandise from Wal-Mart, and a search revealed 35 pills and a bag of a crystalline substance, police said.

Police arrested Chelsea R. Starkey, 24, about 8 p.m. Sunday. The Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney’s office charged Starkey with two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and misdemeanor theft.

Wal-Mart asset-protection associates saw Starkey place women’s clothing into her purse, according to a probable-cause statement filed by police officer Matthew McAlister. Starkey then paid for two pairs of undergarments but tried to sneak out without paying for the other items, McAlister wrote.

McAlister arrested Starkey and found the drugs when he cataloged her property as she was being booked, according to the statement. He wrote he suspected the pills to be a mixture of hydrocodone and clonazepam.

The crystal substance field-tested negative for methamphetamine, but Starkey said the substance was methamphetamine after she was read her Miranda rights, according to the statement. Starkey said she intended to sell the drugs, McAlister wrote.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

3439 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.