PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A Mercer County man learned the hard way that “keeping things under wraps” doesn’t work so well when the wraps are your underwear.
Deputies with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department were called to the Princeton Walmart on Sunday afternoon after reports of a shoplifter — later identified as Timothy Patrick Sloan — who, according to witnesses, was stashing boxes of Imodium in some rather personal places.
When deputies arrived, they found Sloan wandering the aisles in an orange ballcap, black leather jacket, and blue jeans. Asked for his name, Sloan reportedly told officers, “Tom,” — which didn’t fly for long. Deputies detained him and escorted him to the store’s loss prevention office, where a search turned up three boxes of Imodium tucked into the crotch of his underwear.
Store security officer Jesse Otey provided footage and receipts showing Sloan had also tried to conceal more boxes in his pocket and shopping cart. The total haul: six boxes of Imodium worth $77.88 — and one very uncomfortable trip downtown.
Records show Sloan wasn’t new to this routine. He already had two prior shoplifting convictions from 2023 and had been banned from Walmart earlier that year after signing a trespass form.
Sloan was arrested and charged with third-offense shoplifting, obstructing an officer, and trespassing. He was transported to jail, where, presumably, Imodium was no longer in short supply.
