Police: California woman caught 'licking groceries inside store' amid COVID-19 pandemic

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- A California woman was arrested after police said she was caught licking items in a Safeway store amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It happened Wednesday afternoon, April 8 at the store on Johnson Lane in South Lake Tahoe. Officers responded for a report of a customer "licking groceries inside the store."

An employee told police Jennifer Walker, 53, put numerous pieces of jewelry from the store on her hands, licked the jewelry and then began to load her cart with merchandise from the store. The employee said everything in the cart could no longer be sold due to the cross-contamination, and police said Walker had a cart full of merchandise.

Police said an investigation revealed that Walker had no means to purchase any of the items, with an approximate value of $1,800.

Walker was subsequently arrested for felony vandalism and was booked in the El Dorado County Jail without further incident.