A Forks woman was arrested Sunday on a $30,000 warrant for charges stemming from a Nov. 29 aggressive shoplifting incident at Walmart in Chehalis.
The defendant, Ashley N. Looper, 34, of Forks, is accused of punching a store employee in the face after the employee stopped her for leaving the store with unpaid merchandise, according to court documents.
Two of the store’s loss prevention officers had reportedly “observed (Looper) in the camera section (of the store) and saw her conceal items in a purse she was carrying,” according to court documents.
They confronted Looper, who allegedly said “I’m going to f—ing punch you.”
One of the loss prevention officers then reportedly “attempted to grab (Looper’s) purse to retrieve the store items,” prompting Looper to allegedly punch the left side of the officer’s face. The officer retained the purse, which Looper allegedly “tried to forcefully recover.” The other loss prevention officer attempted to intervene, at which point Looper allegedly punched that second officer and ran from the scene, according to court documents.
The store contacted the Chehalis Police Department and a responding officer searched the purse, locating Looper’s identification within.
She was charged with one count of second-degree robbery in Lewis County Superior Court on Dec. 8. A judge issued a $30,000 warrant for Looper’s arrest that same day.
Lewis County Jail records indicate Looper was arrested and booked into the jail by the Chehalis Police Department just before 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11.
She was released on $10,000 unsecured bail on Monday, Dec. 12.
An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Dec. 22.
