I was wrongly accused of theft at Walmart self-checkout – I thought it was sorted but 2 weeks later all hell broke loose

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A WALMART shopper falsely accused of stealing goods has told how she was hit with an arrest warrant and spent six hours in jail.

Marquona Tippens was accused of stealing at the self-checkout station in a Walmart store in North Olmsted, Ohio in February 2022.

Marquona Tippens has told how was jailed - weeks after being wrongly accused of stealing — Marquona Tippens has told how was jailed – weeks after being wrongly accused of stealingCredit: News 5 Cleveland

Surveillance footage helped clear Tippens as the charges were later droppedCredit: North Olmsted Police Department

She revealed that she had trouble scanning the goods at the machine before an employee gave her a hand.

But, a security guard had accused her of stealing even after she had paid for her items.

All charges filed against Tippens, a mom, were dropped, but she’s spoken out about the ordeal.

She told Inside Edition: “I was being accused of something I didn’t do. I just felt like that was a slap in the face.”

A security guard checked her receipts, but Tippens said that she took the items back to get a refund and was offered a gift card.

But, two weeks later she had an arrest warrant. She ended up spending six hours in jail. She was accused of stealing $23.65 in items,

Tippens was cleared after surveillance footage showed a staffer helping her scan the goods at the machine.

The shopper opened up on the experience and said she felt “victimized,” per the ABC Cleveland affiliate WEWS.

She said: “It’s the most horrible thing that has ever happened to me.”

Tippens said she was fingerprinted before being locked up in a jail cell.

She added that she had to put a jail uniform on.

Tippens has since filed a lawsuit against Walmart and the security guard on allegations of false imprisonment. Both parties have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

She has spoken out about how the incident at the Walmart store has affected her.

She said: “I’m always feeling like the police are following me around, I’m having anxiety going grocery shopping with my kids and I have five kids.”

A Walmart spokesperson told WEWS at the time: “Retail theft is a challenge across the country, and we have processes in place to deter shoplifting in our stores.”

The U.S. Sun has approached Walmart for comment.