Woman carted off to jail for shoplifting, drug charges

Dontayzha Michelle Peterson, 23, of Morganton, was charged with possession with intent to manufacture, sell, deliver methamphetamine, felony breaking and/or entering, felony larceny, larceny after breaking and entering, resist, delay and obstruct a public officer, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance in jail or prison, according to a news release from the Morganton Department of Public Safety.

The charges came after MDPS was called to Walmart when loss prevention reported that a woman was stealing multiple shopping carts full of merchandise and loading them into a vehicle in the parking lot, the release said.

When officers responded to the scene, they identified Peterson as the suspect and recovered merchandise from her vehicle and the other shopping carts that was worth more than $1,900, the release said. Peterson had previously been banned from Walmart, it said.

A search of her vehicle also turned up 17 grams of a substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, the release said.

Peterson didn’t appear to have any previous convictions, according to a records check on the North Carolina Department of Public Safety website.

Peterson was issued a $35,000 secured bond and was set to appear in court Monday.