Receipt scam suspect caught

POST FALLS — A suspect has been arrested in what police call an "organized retail theft group" that has targeted at least 12 stores in the region.

Tyler Andrew Engstrom, 27, Spokane, was spotted in line by an “asset protection” employee at the Customer Service counter at the Stateline Walmart on Sunday. Engstrom was arrested for burglary, possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia, and petit theft.

The theft group Engstrom is allegedly tied to has scammed stores of "thousands upon thousands of dollars," a Walmart asset protection employee told police.

When police asked Engstrom to explain the scam, he said it starts with finding a paper receipt in the garbage or on the ground. He said he either keeps the receipt in hand or scans the receipt onto an application.

According to police, Engstrom said he or someone else steals the same merchandise on the receipt and then returns the merchandise on a different day to avoid suspicion. Walmart doesn't ask for a photo identification on returns under a certain amount.

Engstrom told police he has committed the receipt fraud at the Stateline Walmart at least 25 times. He said he's also committed the fraud at Walmarts on Mullan Avenue in Post Falls, Hayden, Smelterville and multiple stores in the Spokane area.

"Originally he started doing this as a form to make money to fuel his drug habit of heroin," the police report states. "Now, because he is homeless, he uses this as his form of 'employment' because he hasn't worked since 2014."

During the investigation, Engstrom admitted to stealing a "Possessed by Evil" DVD collection at the store on Sunday.

Engstrom was also issued a notice trespassing him from all Walmart stores in the United States.

Two other suspects, Julian C. Stacy, 25, Otis Orchards, and Nichole Marshall, 23, Spokane, who were with Engstrom, were cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. The two were in a green 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, which was on the police watch list, outside the store. A K9 was called upon to help officers find the drugs and paraphernalia inside the Pathfinder.

Receipts, including many from Walmart stores, were also found inside the vehicle.