Report: Rock Hill woman forced child to shoplift with her

A Rock Hill woman forced a child to help her shoplift from a store Saturday, according to Rock Hill Police.

Officers responded to a shoplifting call at Walmart on Dave Lyle Boulevard about 12:30 p.m. and were told a woman and juvenile girl were shoplifting from the store, according to a police report. The two had reportedly taken items from a rack and put them in a purple book bag they brought into the store.

The two passed the checkout lines without paying for the items and went to the garden center, where they selected more items, police said. They were detained by loss prevention personnel until officers arrived.

After being placed under arrest, the woman, 32-year-old Wanda Martinez, told officers there was nothing illegal in her purse, police said. Inside her purse, they found 4 grams of marijuana in a clear plastic bag.

The juvenile told officers she did not want to steal from the store and that Martinez, who is her relative, “told her she had to do what she was told.”

The girl, whose age was not listed on the report, said “she was taught to listen to adults and that is what she did,” the report states. Officers determined the child “was not of a sound state of mind.”

Martinez was charged with shoplifting, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of marijuana, according to the report. She was placed in the Rock Hill city jail and released Monday under $7,500 bond.

Teddy Kulmala: 803-329-4082, @teddy_kulmala

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 12:46 PM with the headline "Report: Rock Hill woman forced child to shoplift with her."