Woman Left ’Scared Straight’ After Walmart Allegedly Has a US Marshal Following Her When She Visits: ‘Crazy About Popcorn Chicken’
That's one way to be remembered.
If you’re the type to snack while you shop at hypermarkets and sometimes forget to pay for it, you might want to rethink that habit. Alexi (@alexi.marie) said she found herself in that predicament while she was at Walmart, only to find herself facing the consequences of that mistake a year later, when a US Marshal was allegedly keeping an eye on her as she shopped.
Alexi shared the incident in a video on TikTok, with on-screen text that said, “Moral of the story: do not steal popcorn chicken from Walmart.” She added that “Walmart DO NOT play,” warning viewers of the repercussions they could face if they were caught stealing—accidentally or not.
According to Alexi, she initially found herself under the watchful eye of Walmart’s loss prevention team after she allegedly ate popcorn chicken while on a 2-hour shopping spree at the store. However, when they finally checked out, she claimed to have forgotten to pay for the snack.
Alexi nearly got in trouble again
“When we were walking out of Walmart, the police, loss prevention, everybody’s like swarming us and was, like, ‘Yall need to come with us. We saw what you stole,’” Alexi said. Alexi said the loss prevention team later took her and her boyfriend’s picture and allegedly warned them that a repeat offense may lead to an arrest.
A year after the first incident, Alexi returned to the store to buy her daughter a car seat and a few other things. While she was at the checkout, she claimed to have been on the phone with a friend and didn’t notice that the cashier had missed scanning the car seat.
“I’m on the phone with my friend, talking, and I’m not really paying attention,” Alexi said. “I’m expecting her to come around and ring up my car seat.” However, it wasn’t until she was finalizing her payment that she and the cashier noticed they had forgotten to include the car seat.
Remembering the warning she received from loss prevention, Alexi made sure the mistake was immediately rectified. “Don’t forget about that. Do not. Because they will put me in jail,” Alexi said. “They don’t play with me, and I don’t know why. […] They are really crazy about their popcorn chicken.” She added that she would “10 out of 10” not recommend anyone stealing Walmart’s popcorn chicken.
As the cashier was fixing the mistake, Alexi said she noticed a man standing behind her, who allegedly showed her his badge and told her he was a US Marshal. “Y’all didn’t send loss prevention? Y’all didn’t send the police? Y’all sent the Marshal? Over some popcorn chicken?” Alexi asked Walmart through the video.
The incident left her paranoid when shopping at Walmart
According to Alexi, the incident left her feeling “scared straight” over the possibility of landing herself in jail, as stealing is something that she believes she would never do. But it seemed Walmart thought otherwise, as they allegedly had someone constantly following Alexi during her later visits, the TikToker said.
Alexi said she became paranoid whenever she saw someone watching her, to the point that she began asking them for help in finding items she needed. “Ma’am, since you work here, can you just help me find what I’m looking for? Since you’re gonna follow me around the whole store,” Alexi supposedly told the staff.
Alexi claimed that the interest she received from loss prevention over the mistake was “excessive” and “so much,” as there were other shoppers who could actually be stealing at the time. “I know. I did the crime, and I didn’t have to do the time,” she said. “But now, ya’ll have scared me straight. I am scared straight. I will not steal.”
It seemed Alexi wasn’t the only one with such an incident. Viewers shared their own experiences of getting caught on loss prevention’s radar. “Girllllll I got summoned for BUBBLE GUM at Walmart!!” one commenter said. One claimed that a simple mistake got someone banned from the store, saying, “Walmart does NOT play! My friend accidentally forgot to put a $1 emergency camping flare on the belt to pay. It’s been 15+ years. Still banned at all stores for life.”
Some, however, found the sudden appearance of the US Marshal amusing. “Lmaooooo the man behind you was definitely the plot twist,” one commenter wrote. “NOT THE SECRET SHOPPER BEHIND YOU,” another said. Either way, Alexi might never look at popcorn chicken the same way again.
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