Meaggan Pettipiece Olympian coach career and life ruined after ‘forgetting’ to scan $67 worth items (including ham and asparagus) at self checkout machine at Walmart store. But is she telling the truth?
Did one former athlete great intend to steal? A former Olympian has insisted she forgot to scan asparagus and ham (amongst other items coming to a total of $67…) at a self checkout machine when she was arrested earlier this year at a Walmart store for alleged theft of items.
Canadian athlete Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, was arrested on March 28 in Indiana for theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.
The charges have since been dropped, but the incident led to Pettipiece being forced to resign from her lofty job as an Olympian coach along with Pettipiece saying her, ‘reputation now being ruined.’
Charges dropped but damage done…
Matters came to the fore after Walmart security reported that the US college softball coach had failed to scan a ‘couple of food items’ (?) during a grocery haul at a self-checkout machine.
The incident led to responding police searched Pettipiece and finding three disposable vapes in her purse, along with two unopened blister packs containing anti-nausea medication Zofran.
The charges were dropped against the athlete from Blenheim, Ontario on September 19 – but too late, with Pettipiece now telling media the incident ruined her career and life, and practically ‘changed everything’.
‘It is bittersweet,’ Pettipiece told Canada’s National Post. ‘I’m happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed.
‘The sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life.
‘It’s been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it’s been really difficult.’
Habitual forgetful person?
Pettipiece resigned as head coach of the NCAA Division 1 softball team at Valparaiso University in Indiana shortly after the Walmart incident.
Police detained the softball coach at the supermarket and found that $67 worth of items, including asparagus and ham, had not been scanned.
She paid for other items worth $167, according to local news reports from March.
It was during the arrest and subsequent search of Pettipiece that police uncovered the vapes and nausea medication.
‘It was so ridiculous,’ Pettipiece said, adding that she didn’t realize the self-checkout scanner hadn’t read some of the items.
The former athlete added that the vapes did not contain nicotine or THC, and the pills were a prescription belonging to an assistant coach who asked her to look after them when they headed to a softball game.
‘We both forgot about them,’ she said.
The Valparaiso Beacons softball team confirmed that Pettipiece resigned on April 1.
‘The softball community is a tightknit group and it (the news) went through like wildfire,’ Pettipiece told National Post.
‘You really do learn who the people are that really believe in you and trust you and are truly a friend for you.’
Social media responds
In the aftermath of her arrest, the court proceedings were delayed, until her lawyer’s request for a dismissal was approved the dailymail reported.
Judges reviewed Pettipiece’s account of the incident, proof of her assistant’s prescription and character reference letters before coming to the decision.
Pettipiece played softball for Canada at the 2000 Sydney Games and was an alternate for the 2004 Olympic team.
And then there were these comments on the web that caught this author’s attention. See what you think?
‘It wasn’t just two items that didn’t scan. It was $67 including asparagus and ham. That’s a lot of stuff. That was no accident.’
‘If store surveillance shows that she ran the items through the scanner but the machine failed to register, that’s a mitigating factor showing she didn’t mean to steal the items. One look at the video is all it would have taken for the store or law enforcement authorities to derail any criminal proceeding.’
‘One item can be overlooked and usually does not bring attention, however 67 dollars worth of items, definitely suspicious.’
‘And how about the prescription Zofran? It belonged to someone else and she said she had a note from that person allowing her to use it. You’re not supposed to share prescriptions.’
‘The presumption should be in favor of the customer when a store installs those checkouts and customers are forced to use them! They often miss read or fail to pick up scans.’
‘Every Walmart I’ve been too, if an item doesn’t scan, the machine stalls and says to remove item from the bagging area. You have to scan it again and often signals for an attendant.’
