By Jim Clark

Police officers were dispatched to the K-Mart on Middlesex Avenue last Friday as Loss Prevention personnel there reported a case of alleged shoplifting.

Store personnel reportedly informed police that the man being held, Shane Bell, 36, of Pelham, NH, had attempted to return 12 large bottles of laundry detergent for a refund but that those items were never registered in the system as being sold, which meant they were taken without payment, police said.

It was also reported that while waiting for the refund to be processed Bell had allegedly concealed nine baseball cards on his person, according to reports.

Police questioned Bell, who stated that he was unaware that the detergent was stolen and that he was acting upon someone else’s behalf in returning them, police said. Bell told police that a woman who was waiting outside had asked him to return the items in exchange for $20, according to reports.

Bell then reportedly identified the woman via the store’s security camera system and police confronted her for questioning on the matter. The woman identified herself as Melissa Pelletier and denied Bell’s story, claiming that they had actually known one another for years and that she was waiting for him to finish returning the detergent, police said.

Both parties then reportedly changed their stories, saying that a third individual, later identified as Todd Plante, 43, had given them the detergent to return in exchange for $20 and that he was supposed to be outside, waiting by Mr. Bell’s vehicle, according to police reports.

Police escorted Bell and Pelletier out of the store, informing them that they would have to answer to criminal charges in court. Mr. Bell started walking towards his vehicle, made eye contact with another male standing by his vehicle, then suddenly turned away and walked another direction, according to reports. Police say that this man had a shopping cart full of different items from different stores. He was standing next to a black SUV bearing New Hampshire plates, and was identified as Todd Plante, the same man Mr. Bell spoke of in the Loss Prevention office, police said.

Plante reportedly told police that the merchandise in the shopping cart he was holding was  not his, that it belonged to his friend, the owner of the vehicle. Plante further identified the owner of the vehicle as Shane Bell, according to police, and reportedly stated that Shane was accompanied by his girlfriend, who is also his ex-wife, Kristen Plante.

Plante’s description of Kristen Plante reportedly matched the description of Melissa Pelletier, the woman that police detained inside the K-Mart, police said. A query of Kristen Plante’s name via the Registry of Motor Vehicles provided a picture that confirmed Melissa Pelletier’s true identity, and also revealed that Kristen Plante had a warrant for her arrest, police said.

Representatives of both Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and A.C. Moore were reportedly called over to check the status of the merchandise that Plante possessed. Bed, Bath, and Beyond’s manager confirmed that those items from his store were never rung in and were in fact stolen, their worth totaling $649.97, according to police.  A.C. Moore’s manager confirmed that those items from her store, with a reported worth of $39.95, were never rung in and were also stolen, according to police.

Mr. Plante was placed under arrest and is charged with receiving stolen property valued over $250.00 and conspiracy.  Mr. Bell was also taken into custody and is charged with shoplifting by concealment, receiving stolen property under $250.00, and conspiracy.  A search of the area could not locate Kristen Plante.  She is also charged with conspiracy to commit larceny and will be summonsed to court.