Arizona Corrections Officer Accused of Serial Shoplifting at Walmart

A serial Walmart shoplifter was caught this week, and he turned out to be a corrections officer, according to authorities. Hugo Rivera, 34, shoplifted from Walmart stores at least five times, according to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, and had already been banned from entering any Walmart store when he...

By Matthew Hendley

December 12, 2014

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A serial Walmart shoplifter was caught this week, and he turned out to be a corrections officer, according to authorities.

Hugo Rivera, 34, shoplifted from Walmart stores at least five times, according to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, and had already been banned from entering any Walmart store when he was caught in the act earlier this week.

Arizona Department of Corrections spokesman Doug Nick tells New Times that Rivera resigned from the department after his arrest, and that he had no disciplinary history other than "relatively minor" incidents.

According to a PCSO spokesman, Walmart employees called in a shoplifter last week at a San Tan Valley store, saying the man was actively shoplifting in the store, and they thought he was the same person who loaded up a cart with goods and rolled it out without paying a week before that.

Deputies didn't arrive in time, but according to the Sheriff's Office, the same guy came back this week and started to shoplift again.

Deputies were able to arrest Rivera this time, and Walmart dug up a trespassing notice that Rivera had signed earlier this year, which banned him from entering any Walmart property. Rivera had been caught twice stealing from a Walmart in Mesa, according to the Sheriff's Office.

According to the PCSO, Rivera was taking things like linens, detergent, dish soap, wine, beer, and small appliances, and in each of the San Tan Valley incidents, had brought his 4-year-old daughter along with him.

In the San Tan Valley incidents, Rivera strolled out with more than $1,000 worth of merchandise, according to the PCSO.

Rivera was booked into jail on three felony charges: burglary, theft, and organized retail theft.

Last year, Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan revealed there had been more than 600 arrests of ADC employees in less than five years.

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Follow Valley Fever on Twitter at @ValleyFeverPHX. Follow Matthew Hendley at @MatthewHendley.

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