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Menomonee Falls accused Tide Pod thief charged
Menomonee Falls police say a man left Woodman's without paying for a cart-load of merchandise. Investigators say he took hundreds of dollars worth of the same thing.
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. - Menomonee Falls police say a man left Woodman's without paying for a cart-load of merchandise. Investigators say he took hundreds of dollars worth of the same thing.
Police say 68-year-old James Bailey was in the Woodman's parking lot last summer when a woman stood in front of his bumper. Police say Bailey stepped on the gas. Prosecutors say Bailey hit the woman so hard that she "rolled onto the hood."
James Bailey
Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Bailey in April after he did not show up for his initial court hearing. On Friday, July 21, Bailey waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He told the court commissioner he had trouble focusing because he is on a new medication.
"Are you not understanding what is happening here today?" the commissioner asked.
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"Not to a full degree, but as of this moment, yes I do," Bailey answered.
Investigators say the woman Bailey hit was a Woodman's employee. Police say she followed Bailey and tried to stop him because Bailey stole $545 worth of Tide Pod.
Woodman's in Menomonee Falls
FOX6 News crunched the numbers. Bailey left the store with at least 20 containers of detergent – which equates to potentially 2,200 individual laundry pods.
Prosecutors charged Bailey with first-degree recklessly endangering safety and felony retail theft.
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Prosecutors say other Woodman’s employees confronted Bailey. He denied stealing anything. But police say Bailey could not provide a receipt.