CLEARFIELD – An Altoona woman involved with a theft ring targeting Walmart stores and removing over $25,000 in merchandise, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges Monday in Clearfield County.
Police say Tammi Marie Koch, 38, was arrested after she returned to the Clearfield Walmart on Dec. 5, 2022.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, she was part of a larger investigation into thefts at several Walmart stores, both in and out of Pennsylvania. Koch was identified as the “main female involved.”
Her tattoos helped make that connection because she had been arrested in Keyser, W. Va., for grand larceny at its Walmart.
A Walmart employee on a task force told police Koch and a man later identified as John Setser, 32 also of Altoona, “pushed an entire cart full of merchandise, worth $1,664.49 past all points of sale” and made no effort to pay on Sept. 23, 2022.
Surveillance video reportedly shows the pair filling up a cart with clothing, household items, computer accessories and other items before they walk out through the self-checkout area with their cart and leave the store.
The alarm went off, but they did not stop and continued to the parking lot where they loaded everything in a white Toyota sedan.
The two others involved in a November theft are Bridget Rezac, 48, and Travis Scott Chichy, 44, both of Altoona.
During the second theft, video reveals that Koch and a man, separate after they enter the store with each filling up a cart before Koch leaves without paying again. She reportedly took items worth $2,196.58 at that time.
She stated that Chichy put “makeup on his tattoos and covered them to avoid being identified.”
On that November day, he reportedly filled a cart separate from Koch with merchandise totaling $1,582.83.
In her interview with investigators, Koch admitted that the thefts occurred at various places but was shocked at the total dollar amount taken. She explained the items were sold online but “people do not pay that much for the items.”
Koch stated that she “likes to help people and gives friends and family money.”
The criminal complaint says that stealing appeared to be her “main source of income.”
On Monday, Koch was sentenced by President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman to 12 months to three years in state prison for felony counts of conspiracy/retail theft and receiving stolen property. This will run consecutive to a state prison sentence of six months to 24 months she received in Clarion County for misdemeanor retail theft on Nov. 15.
In a second Clearfield case, she pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and defiant trespass, all misdemeanors, and received a concurrent sentence of six months to one year in state prison with one year probation.
In November, she was also sentenced in Blair County to three months to 23 months, 15 days in its county jail for three other retail theft cases.
Last week, Rezac was sentenced to 14 days to one year in jail with 18 months probation for receiving stolen property in the Clearfield County case.
Setser pleaded guilty to retail theft in Clearfield County in March with a sentence of 60 days to one year in the county jail with 18 months probation.
For a Blair County case, he pleaded guilty to felony drug charges and was given seven years probation in June.
Chichy is scheduled for sentencing on retail theft charges Jan. 8 in Clearfield County.
Two others identified as being involved in this theft ring, Lance Alan Shaneyfelt, 32, and Alita Renee Grassmyer, 23, both of Altoona, had retail theft charges filed against them for thefts at the store in November, but these are listed as inactive in online court documents.