West Chester Twp. police say the incidents that occurred, Dec. 31, Jan. 25 and Feb. 2, involve the same three suspects and the same methods of thievery at the Walmart off Cincinnati-Dayton Road.
On Feb. 2 — just as in the previous two incidents, police say — David A. Kilburn, 33, of the 3300 block of Camvic Terrace, Cincinnati; and Shawna Louise Butts, 31, of the 1300 block of Elam Street, Cincinnati; selected an empty rubber tote from the shelves and headed for the store’s health and beauty section.
Police say the two then filled the tote with thousands of dollars worth of teeth-whitening kits, men’s and women’s razors and over-the-counter medication, and placed the tote back on its original shelf.
They then allegedly returned the following day, selected the same — now full — tote off the shelf and ran out the store’s emergency exit where a getaway car — as well as police, as it turns out — were waiting for them, officials said.
The amounts added up. Police accuse Kilburn and Butts of stealing $1,000 in items Dec. 31, $3,000 in items on Jan. 25 and $3,008 in items Feb. 2. Each was charged with breaking and entering — since both had been banned from Walmart stores for previous thefts — and felony theft. The reported driver of the vehicle, Penny P. Partin, 33, of the 4000 block of Homelawn Avenue, was charged with felony complicity to theft. Each was taken to the Butler County Jail. Only Kilburn remained behind bars as of Tuesday, Feb. 16, according to jail records.
During the afternoon of Feb. 13, two men were arrested on similar charges after they allegedly stole more than $1,500 worth of items from the Colerain Twp. Walmart and allegedly led police on a chase that topped out at 100 mph, according to media partners Local12.
Police said they are continuing to investigate whether Kilburn, Butts or Partin were involved in other similar thefts from Walmart, Meijer, and other stores in Butler and Warren counties.
More than $2,000 worth of Prilosec was stolen from Walmart off Bowen Drive in Deerfield Twp., according to records from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, which state “Walmart has a big investigation going on the suspect. He has been doing this at other stores.” No arrests were made, according to reports.
During her testimony in Butler County Area III Court Feb. 10, West Chester Detective Lori Beiser said police had been reviewing surveillance videos from the store for some time. They were staged at the Cincinnati-Dayton Road Walmart Feb. 2 when the three showed up. Beiser also testified that Kilburn admitted to the thefts during booking interviews.
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