Two Sullivan County women were arrested Saturday at a local Food City after a store employee discovered meat, allergy pills and denture glue hidden in their purses, according to a Johnson City police report.
Tresa J. Culler, 37, 380 Old Mountain View Rd., Bluff City, and Judy A. White, 32, 260 Old Oak Lane, Bluff City, were each charged with shoplifting. White faces an additional charge of simple possession after she told police she'd left a small baggie of pills in the police car she'd had hidden in her sock. According to the report, White made that statement as she was being booked into the Sullivan County Detention Center. The pills were later identified as 1 mg Xanax.
The theft incident occurred at Food City, 6681 Bristol Highway, Bluff City. It was reported around 4 p.m. after an employee saw White in the store with "her purse full of items," patrolman Dennis Brown wrote in the police report. The employee followed White and Culler and then approached them about both having unpaid items in their bags.
The employee searched the women's purses in the office and found Claritin, Fixodent, a bag of chocolates and six separate meat items, including ribs, lunch ham and a round roast.
All the items were valued at approximately $92.
In addition to these charges, both women have outstanding warrants from Carter County, according to the police report. Those outstanding warrants are what actually landed Culler and White in jail Saturday because the theft charges are misdemeanors. to make an arrest on a a misdemeanor crime, a police officer must witness the crime occur.