MEQUON, Wis. — A Mequon-Thiensville School District employee has been charged after he allegedly stole more than $800 worth of items from the Meijer grocery stores.
Kevin Deering is the Executive Director of Educational Services for Mequon-Theinsville. He has been charged with one count of felony retail theft after a criminal complaint states he stole from Meijer on 10 different occasions.
The complaint states Grafton Police were called to the Meijer on Port Washington Road on April 8, 2023 for reports of a retail theft. When the officer arrived, he spoke to an employee who learned of a series of thefts committed by the same customer.
The employee told the officer that the customer, Deering, used a method called "skip scanning" to steal the items. He would have multiples of the same item but would only scan and pay for one of them.
In other instances, Deering is accused of simply having items in his cart, not scanning them, and leaving the store with them.
The criminal complaint breaks down 10 different instances where Deering allegedly stole from the store.
- 02/14/2023 – total loss to Meijer $112.04
- 02/19/2023 – loss of $88.49
- 02/23/2023 – loss of $15.42
- 02/25/2023 – loss of $45.28
- 03/04/2023 – loss of $66.04
- 03/11/2023 – loss of $99.80
- 03/19/2023 – loss of $104.64
- 03/24/2023 – loss of $21.97
- 04/01/2023 – loss of $21.46
- 04/02/2023 – loss of $146.77
Meijer reported a total loss of $864.47.
When police spoke to Deering, he said he did not realize he was missing items and offered to pay for them. He later said he understood he was on camera and said he wanted to cooperate.
An officer with the Grafton Police Department told Deering he watched the video and said it shows the missed items were not a mistake. The officer claimed Deering intentionally avoided paying for the items.
If convicted of the felony theft charge, Deering could face a maximum of three years and six months in prison and fined not more than $10,000.
Deering had his initial appearance in court on April 10, where he was released on a signature bond of $2,000. The court also ordered no contact with any Meijer stores.
TMJ4 News reached out to the Mequon-Thiensville School District for a statement. Here's their response:
On the evening of Sunday, April 9, Mequon-Thiensville School District (MTSD) administrators became aware of a situation involving an MTSD employee. The employee has been placed on administrative leave, effective Monday, April 10. As this is a confidential personnel matter and an ongoing legal investigation, we do not have any further comment at this time.
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