3 Arrested In Elder-Beerman Theft

Police said an employee at an Elder-Beerman store is accused of giving away clothing, and now police said her customers were in on the scheme.

According to police, the worker used a trick of the thumb at the cash register, allegedly giving away more than $1,000 worth of merchandise from the store on Philadelphia Drive

Police said Kiera Peterson worked at the store. They said she let two other people through the checkout line, ringing up $29 for a sale that was in excess of $1,300.

According to police, they said she put her thumb over the bar code and pretended to scan the item. She is accused of doing this 29 times on various items of name-brand clothing, apparently not knowing that security was watching the entire time.

Police reports said that Peterson told officers that she accidentally had forgotten to ring up some items, and that she simply made a mistake. However, police do not believe her story.

She was arrested, along with her apparent boyfriend Keith Higgins and their friend Ciera Cruz. They are being held in the Montgomery County Jail on theft charges.

Police said officers returned the suspected stolen items to the store.