BLUEFIELD, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A coordinated theft involving a staged argument and a stolen wallet has led to charges against three individuals in connection to a June 18 incident at Kristi’s, a business located on Majestic Place in Mercer County.
Deputies responded to the scene around 11:24 a.m. after a man, later identified as Joshua Tedder, reported his wallet had been stolen during a commotion involving two men and a woman.
According to Tedder, two men entered the store and began loudly arguing, prompting him to intervene and escort them out. During the distraction, a woman accompanying the men allegedly snuck behind the counter and took his Fossil magnetic clip wallet, which contained $276 in cash.
Security footage confirmed the series of events. The two male suspects — identified as Franklin Douglas Blevins and Robert Lee Dempsey — entered the store first and headed toward a machine in the back corner. A short time later, a woman, identified as April Dawn Mathena, entered the store, loitered near the front doors, then turned toward the counter during the chaos.
Footage showed Mathena grabbing the wallet from behind the counter and fleeing the store, while Blevins and Dempsey exited shortly afterward. The group then left the scene in a Ford Explorer that was seen arriving earlier on external surveillance cameras.
An employee at a nearby business, Grants, corroborated the timeline, stating he witnessed the group leaving together in the same vehicle.
Deputies have filed warrants for conspiracy and petit larceny against Blevins, Dempsey, and Mathena in connection to the planned distraction and theft.
