Husband and wife allegedly changed price tags of 47 items at Walmart

A Pahrump couple is facing theft charges after allegedly changing price tags on 47 items at Walmart.

Deputy Jason Ruesch responded to the retailer just before 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11, according to a Nye County Sheriff’s Office report, after loss prevention workers there advised dispatch that the couple was scanning merchandise at the self-checkout counter and suspected them of stealing.

A Walmart employee confronted husband and wife Francis and Linda Nicodemo as they were exiting the store with merchandise, according to the sheriff’s office, and they were escorted to the store’s loss prevention office while workers determined which items were paid for.

While waiting for the employee to conduct the inventory, Ruesch said he spoke to the couple about the offense and penalties associated with the alleged crime.

Retail crime

Altering price tags is a form of shoplifting as retail crime continues to rise in the U.S.

In 2023, a whopping 13 percent of small business owners said they experienced retail theft every single day. One in five surveyed business owners claimed merchandise typically gets stolen a few times per week. Only five percent of U.S. respondents said they do not experience theft in their stores at all.

“Upon completing the inventory, the employee told me that there were numerous items with price tags that had been switched out for cheaper priced merchandise,” Ruesch’s report stated. “Upon reviewing Walmart’s CCTV system, I saw both Francis and Linda in the meat department switching out price tags and placing cheaper tags on more expensive meats.”

Ruesch said that a Walmart worker provided a receipt for 47 items, which had a total value of $600.62.

Bail amount on both was set at $3,000 dollars each.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On X: @pvtimes